


Everything to Win

by lastyoungrene_gay_de



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: AND ARENT RELATED AT ALL IN THIS FIC, Alternate Universe - Anastasia (1997 & Broadway) Fusion, Alternate Universe - No Powers, BECAUSE YES EVEN THO THEY ARENT RELATED BY BLOOD IN THE SHOW, F/M, Guns, IT'S STILL FUCKING INCEST YOU FUCKING FREAKS, Implied Sexual Content, Klaus Wears a Skirt, Love Confessions, M/M, Memory Loss, Minor Character Death, No Incest, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, also we get some dave backstory and four backstory, both of which involve discussions of alcohol and related issues, but i needed to keep klaus /klaus/ so i made it acknowledged backstory, but it's not gonna be a prominent part of the plot, diego/ patch is gonna happen later but im including it in the relationships tag now anyway sorry, drunk minor character with like three lines, memory recovery, no one is shot or anything but hazel does pull a gun out for a second, the siblings arent related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:54:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24414667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastyoungrene_gay_de/pseuds/lastyoungrene_gay_de
Summary: Ben is searching for his best friend. Four is searching for himself. Dave and Diego are searching for a way out. Maybe they can help each other.or a self indulgent klave anastasia au
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Eudora Patch, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Dave & Diego Hargreeves, Dave/Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves/Eudora Patch, Klaus Hargreeves & Eudora Patch
Comments: 71
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been thinking about writing this for fucking EVER but I didn't know if anyone would be interested in reading it, but then I realized I don't care I'm gonna write it anyway. This is obviously super self indulgent and I'm not kidding when I say I wrote this for me but figured why not post it anyway?? 
> 
> So this is au is going to be kind of a mix between the movie and the broadway musical. Most of the plot is going to come from the stage musical, but some details and certain plot points may also come from the movie. For example, the beginning scene where Klaus and Ben escape from the palace is the one from the movie, but other than that it'll all mostly be from the musical because it's my fic and I can do what I want.

Ben had read about it in a book a long time ago. Paris. The place they were going to be free when they got older. Where they would go and no one would find them. 

What they didn’t know was that they wouldn’t have to be hiding. 

Klaus was doing his best to hide how uncomfortable he was. The palace’s ballroom was far too full, of both people and noise. He stood still at the front of the ballroom, the perfect little prince on display, and his eyes scanned the room for any sign of Ben. Klaus was getting worried, Ben should have been there by now. 

Then, suddenly, he saw Ben’s face near the entrance across the ballroom. Klaus felt a wide grin split across his face before he could stop it. Ben smiled right back and began to weave his way through the crowd on the ballroom floor. Klaus finally took his first step into the crowd and made his way to Ben. He threw his arms around him as soon as he got to him. 

“Any new ideas?” Klaus asked, arms still around Ben’s shoulders. 

“Just ideas?” Ben responded with a laugh and pulled out of Klaus’ grip. “I have it all planned out now.” Klaus’ grin grew even more. 

“Really?” he asked, voice full of awe and hope. 

“Yeah,” Ben said. “As soon as we’re old enough, you and me. Free, together in Paris.” Klaus wasted no time pulling him into another tight hug. 

“I see they wouldn’t let you wear a skirt,” Ben whispered in his ear. 

“No,” Klaus sighed. “And since I asked I can’t even wear them in private anymore either.” 

Ben pulled away to look at Klaus’ face. “I’ll bet you’ll be able to wear skirts anytime you wish in Paris.” 

The thought alone brought another smile quickly to his face. “Tell me about our trip,” he said, imagining himself in a few years dancing around a flat in Paris with a skirt flying around his legs. 

“First, I brought you something,” Ben said and pulled Klaus away from the ball and into a small hallpassage way. It was the first time Klaus noticed the small package he had in his hands. “I know this might cause the same problem as a skirt, but I think you’ll like it,” he said and shoved the box toward Klaus, who smiled and quickly opened it. 

Inside was a round metal box decorated with bright colored paints and jewels. There were small hinges on one side of the lid, but when Klaus reached into the box to open it, it wouldn’t budge. 

“Let me show you,” Ben said and reached for the package. Klaus handed it to him and watched as he pulled it out of the wrapping. The jewels decorating the box glittered in the light and sent harsh reflections of the lights into Klaus’ eyes. He squinted to watch as Ben lifted it up over his head to look at the underside of it. He pushed or poked at something on the bottom, and the top slowly opened and a song began to play. 

“Wow,” Klaus gasped as Ben lowered the music box and handed it back to him. 

“And it plays the song from our music lessons,” Ben said with a wide grin. “I asked Eudora’s dad to make it. I thought it would help you remember our plans, even on bad days.” Klaus quickly pulled Ben into another bone crushing hug. 

“Be sure to tell him it’s wonderful,” Klaus said. “And I’ll tell her next time I see her.” 

“That might be kind of hard,” Den said and let go of Klaus. When he looked at him, Ben’s face had fallen to its lowest since he arrived at the ball. “They’re moving in a few days. We probably won’t see them before they go.” 

“Oh, Ben, I’m so sorry,” Klaus said and set a comforting hand on his shoulder. Eudora Patch was Ben’s closest friend other than Klaus. They both had relevant enough titles that Klaus could spend some free time with them, but the other two spent time together when he couldn’t escape lessons or duties or whatever pointless training his father had him doing that day. 

Klaus truly didn’t understand why he had to do all the royal things. He was the youngest, the fourth child, so his future wasn’t as important as his older brothers’. He didn’t even want the royal life. That’s why he was leaving with Ben as soon as they were old enough. 

“One good thing does come from them leaving, though,” Ben said with a hint of a smile on his lips. 

“Wha- Ben what are you talking about?” Klaus asked as the music box fell silent in his hands. 

“They’re going to Paris,” Ben answered. “So we’ll have some place to start when we get there.” Klaus’ mouth fell open, and when words wouldn’t come out he put his free hand over his mouth. 

“Really?” he finally asked a moment later. 

Ben nodded, eyes shining. “We’re getting closer and closer,” he said. 

Klaus opened his mouth to reply, but as he did loud  _ bang _ s, the sound of glass shattering, and screaming rang through the ballroom and the surrounding halls. Instinctively, Klaus backed up against the wall their hiding space shared with the ballroom. Ben quickly did the same, and after the noises continued for a few seconds, he tiptoed back to the doorway they’d just entered through. He carefully turned to look back through the opening to the ballroom. It only took him a second or two to gasp and lean all the way back against the wall. He looked at Klaus with wild, scared eyes. 

“It’s the Bolsheviks,” he hissed. 

“What?” Klaus whispered. A chill ran through his veins as Ben grabbed his hand. 

“Klaus, we have to go,” Ben said and began running down the hallway away from the ballroom, pulling Klaus behind him. “We have to run. They don’t care that you don’t want this. They will kill you.” Klaus followed him numbly and for no reason other than Ben was holding tight to his wrist and dragging him along with him. 

“Ben, what’s going on?” he finally asked, voice flat and numb. 

“We don’t have time, we have to go!” Ben said without looking back at him. Klaus didn’t notice anything, far too lost in shock to take in the hallways or the turns they took or the fact that he’d dropped his music box at some point. Eventually, they burst through one last set of doors and ran into the freezing winter snow. Klaus finally came back to himself as they were running past the gates and felt the harsh wind biting his cheeks. 

“Ben…” he said and trailed off without actually saying anything. 

“Come on, Klaus,” Ben said. He looked back at him this time but didn’t slow down. “We’re almost there we have to get on a train.” 

“Okay,” Klaus said, still not really taking anything in. 

“You have to take your jacket off, it’s too much. They’ll recognize you.” Ben slowed down and turned to walk backwards facing Klaus. He shoved his jacket off his shoulders and then pulled them off his arms, letting it fall forgotten onto the snow. They kept running. 

Klaus suddenly processed that they were close to the train. He also processed that it was slowly beginning to move. 

“Come on, Klaus. We’re so close!” Ben shouted. A few more steps and he was able to jump onto the platform of the moving train’s caboose. He turned around and held his hand out for Klaus to grab and jump on next to him. 

“Klaus, grab my hand and don’t let go. Okay?” Ben said and grabbed Kaus’ hand in his. He gave it a tight squeeze, which Klaus returned and tried to get on the train next to his friend. “We’ll be okay as soon as you get up here. Don’t let go of me!” 

But the train was gaining speed and Klaus was having trouble keeping up. His legs were suddenly burning from all the running and he was losing feeling in his hands from the cold. 

“Ben, I can’t hold on!” he cried as his hand began to slip from Ben’s grasp. 

“It’s alright, Klaus,” he said and turned toward the train car. “Can anybody help me!?” 

Klaus slipped even more. “Ben! I can’t-” 

He slipped out of Ben’s hand, and everything went dark. 

*****

Four collapsed to the ground at a sudden noise in the street. He slammed his hands over his ears and his heart began pounding in his chest. He didn’t even realize how quickly he had been breathing until there was somebody kneeling in front of him trying to comfort him. 

“It’s alright, it was just a truck backfiring,” the person said. “Those days are over.” 

“ _ Those days _ ?” Four repeated, confused. “What days?” 

“The days of neighbor against neighbor. All the fighting.” Four finally looked back up as the man spoke. He recognized him as soon as he saw his face. Hazel, the one who was always walking around the streets telling the starving people everything was alright. “There’s no reason to be afraid anymore.” 

Four scrambled to his feet, very afraid of Hazel. 

“Yes, sorry I-” he started and tried to walk away, but Hazel grabbed his arm. Four quickly jerked out of his grasp and looked at him with wide eyes. 

“What’s the hurry?” Hazel said. 

“I have a job, I can’t afford to lose it,” Four answered and turned to leave again, and this time Hazel let him. 

“Well, I-” Four lost Hazel’s voice as he darted through the crowd. It wasn’t a lie, Four  _ did _ have a job, he wasn’t sure how he managed to get it, but he did, and he was already way too close to losing it. 

He let his mind wander as he sweeped the street in front of his employer’s shop. The same words as always echoed through his head.  _ Together in Paris _ . If only he could remember  _ who the fuck said that to him _ . 

The people on the street around him were muttering to each other. That wasn’t unusual, but today’s topic of discussion actually intrigued him. Or, at least one word did. 

“-looking for him in Paris,” one lady said to the young man walking next to her. Four stilled and strained to listen to the rest of their conversation as they walked away. “Some men are at the old palace trying to find him and take him to…” He couldn’t hear the end as they walked too far away. 

Four’s shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh. He looked back down at the dirt under his feet and shook his head. 

“You’re trying to get to Paris?” an old, scratchy said from behind him. Four jumped nearly out of his skin and turned around. A small, thin old woman was standing behind him, white hair falling into her face from the way she was standing hunched in on herself. Four looked around frantically before answering her. 

“Wha- How did you-” he started, but she cut him off with a shake of her head. 

“See Dave at the old palace,” she said with an odd, energetic look in her eyes. She began to turn around. “He can help you, but you didn’t hear it from me.” 

Four stood frozen in the street, unable to do anything but watch her walk away. 

*****

Dave let out a sigh as he listened to Diego’s fidgeting next to him. They’d been sitting in the old palace’s theater looking for a Klaus all afternoon, and nothing. He was starting to think Diego might have been right. It wasn’t going to happen. 

“Alright, thank you,” Dave called from the front row of seats, cutting off a man who was way too old to be Klaus as he recited a terribly rehearsed monologue. He looked confused and a little bit hurt as being dismissed, but he didn’t say anything as he walked away. 

Diego sighed next to him. “This is so stupid.” 

“Do you want to get out of here or not, Diego?” Dave asked despite his earlier thoughts. Diego just looked down at his hands twisting together in his lap. 

“Then what do we do, Dave?” he sighed.

“I don’t know,” Dave responded and forced himself out of his seat. He started pacing between the isles. “We just keep trying, I guess. Either until we find someone or come up with another plan.” 

A sudden  _ thump _ and slam came from somewhere outside the theater. Both Dave and Diego jerked to look toward the direction of the noises to find the source. Diego jumped out of his seat and bound toward the stage, no doubt going for the backstage exit. 

“Shit,” he hissed as he ran. “They found us.” Dave ducked onto the floor between some rows of seats. 

“Hello!” the newcomer called. Dave let the room fall silent again, but the new arrival broke it again. “I’m not here to bust you for anything!” Dave didn’t move or say anything, but he heard Diego take a few steps up on stage. 

“What do you want?” his gruff voice carried across the theater. 

“Uhh, I’m looking for Dave,” the stranger answered, sounding unsure of himself. “I was told he can help me.” 

“That’s Dave there, with his feet sticking out between the seats,” Diego said. Dave twisted around to look at his own feet, and was annoyed to see that Diego was right. He huffed as he pushed himself to his feet and turned to the theater doors. 

The first thing Dave noticed about the man now standing in the doorway was that he was fucking beautiful. Dave was not above admitting it. Dark hair, cheekbones Dave could see from the front of the room, shining eyes that flicked around the room. He looked almost… haunted, but he was still the most beautiful thing Dave had ever seen. 

The second thing he noticed was that those same features that made him beautiful looked like the missing young prince in the paintings decorating the grand rooms of the palace. 

“And how exactly can I help you?” Dave questioned. 

“I need to go to Paris,” the man said. 

“Paris?” Dave repeated.  _ How convenient _ . 

“Yes,  _ Paris _ ,” he confirmed then furrowed his eyebrows, shook his head, and pointed at Dave. “I'm sorry, you’re Dave?” 

“Yes, I thought we’d covered that,” Dave said quickly, but continued when the new guy opened his mouth, not giving him a chance to speak. “And you are?” 

“I’m Four,” he said and stood up straighter and pushed his shoulders back. 

“I’m sorry, like the number?” Dave asked incredulously. 

“Yes, like the number,” he- Four- snapped. 

“Would you both shut up,” Diego growled. Dave kept his mouth shut and turned to glare at his friend. He glared right back. Dave nodded and gave Diego the conversation. He jumped off stage and slowly walked over to Four. 

“Why do you want to go to Paris?” he asked. Four looked him up and down before answering.

“To find out who I am,” he said. 

Diego took another step forward. “ _ Who you a _ …” He shook his head and started over. “Why will going to Paris help you with that?” 

Four looked down at his feet and shuffled uncomfortably for a few seconds. “Look I don’t remember anything before waking up in an orphanage as a kid,” he said, looking up between Dave and Diego. 

“Then how do you know Paris will help?” Dave asked loudly. Four looked over Diego’s shoulder and narrowed his eyes. 

“Shut up, Dave,” Diego said without turning around. 

“You know,” Four said and narrowed his eyes even more. “I was told  _ Dave _ could help me, not Diego.” Dave rolled his eyes. 

“We work together,” Diego said quickly and without looking away from Four. 

“Didn’t hear anything about that,” Four shot back. 

“Most people only know him,” Diego explained and turned to point his chin over his shoulder at Dave. “He’s much better with people than I am, so he does that talking.” 

“Oh,  _ he’s _ the people person of the group?” Four asked incredulously. Dave scoffed and shook his head. 

“He’s tired and frustrated,” Diego defended quickly. “Which is why you and me are gonna talk and ignore anything else he says right now.” 

“Fucking jackass,” Dave mumbled and collapsed into one of the seats. 

“Like  _ that _ ,” Diego finished pointedly. Dave didn’t look back as they continued their conversation. “He is right, though. How do you know there’s something in Paris?” 

Four sighed. “Ever since I woke up the only clue to who I am was the words ‘together in Paris.’ It’s been running through my head for years and it’s not like there’s anything keeping me here.” 

“You have no idea who you are?” Diego asked cautiously. Dave finally turned back around when he heard the way Diego asked the question. He stood up as Diego turned back to look at him as well. He could tell by the look on his face that Diego had just realized the same thing as him. They’d found their Klaus, now they just needed to get him on board. 

“You know what, Four? We might be able to help you after all,” Dave said and walked up the aisle so he was standing next to Diego. Now that he was standing right in front of Four, he could see the details in his green eyes. He forced away any thoughts about emeralds or trees in the summertime and continued speaking. “Do you know what we’re doing here?” 

“Trying to get killed?” Four dead panned. Dave crossed his arms over his chest. 

“We’re looking for Prince Klaus,” Dave said. Four’s mouth opened and he raised his eyebrows. It was another few seconds before he shook his head and started to turn around.

“Damnit,” he hissed. “You had my hopes up for a second there, but I guess you guys really do have a deathwish.” 

“You look like him, you know,” Diego said as Four took his first step away from them. 

“Whatever,” Four said and took another step. 

“You know his best friend is looking for him,” Dave called after him. “In Paris.” Four froze. He turned around and looked at them. 

“Paris?” he repeated in disbelief. They both nodded. Four bit his bottom lip. “And what do I have to do to go with you two?” 

Dave and Diego looked at each other. 

“Just learn a little bit,” Dave said. “We’d help you of course,” he added when Four looked unconvinced. “You’d just be remembering who you are. And once you know, we’ll help you get to Paris.” 

Four looked between them again and worried his bottom lip between his teeth. “And you really think I could be him?” he asked. They both nodded. “Okay then. Let’s give it a shot.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there have been some tag updates, but just in case you missed it there is reference to past alcoholism and drunk characters. it's a story with klaus hargreeves so i had to find a way to work it in there because i couldn't ignore such a prominent part of his character but it also isnt really something that i wanted to work into the plot as it is, so i just kinda made it backstory.

Four had heard plenty of gossip about the prince still being alive. He lived in St. Petersburg for fuck’s sake, some days it was  _ all _ he heard. 

Did he really believe it? No, not really. Did he think  _ he _ could be the prince? Not a chance in hell. 

But he needed to get to Paris to find… whoever he was going to be in Paris with. And Dave and Diego were convincing. They seemed to believe it well enough, and they knew a hell of a lot more about it than he did. That much was obvious enough the next morning when they began teaching him every possible detail about Klaus’ life. 

They were in the palace theater again, and Four looked around the room as they walked inside. A chill ran down his spine as he did. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d been in that room before. The memory of when and why was  _ just _ out of reach. It was like trying to remember the words to a song when only the tune was stuck in his head. The feeling only got stronger the closer to the stage they got. He was so engrossed in trying to remember that he didn’t hear Diego talking to him. 

“Four!” Dave’s yell pulled Four from his thoughts. “What are you doing?” 

“Sorry,” Four said and shook his head. “I just feel like I’ve been in this room before.” 

“You have,” Dave said as if he were speaking to a child. “Yesterday.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Four snapped back. “I mean other than that. I don’t know why, though.” 

Diego and Dave looked at each other, but didn’t say anything about it. Instead, they started asking him questions about “his” past. 

“You are the youngest of how many children?” Diego prompted hours later. He snapped the book on the table in front of him shut when he caught Four trying to look at the pages. 

“Fuck, I don’t know,” Four sighed. “Two?” he guessed. 

“No,” Dave groaned from where he was sitting in the corner with another book. “This should be easy enough for you to remember, it’s your damn name.” 

Four scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You have got to be kidding me. I haven’t spent my free time for the last few years studying old rulers whose names you get killed for mentioning!” 

“They were public figures for years!”

“Years that  _ I don’t remember _ !” 

“Both of you, be quiet!” Diego yelled over both of them. They both fell silent but didn’t stop glaring at each other. “Dave, we are here to  _ help _ and  _ teach  _ him.” He turned to Four. “But you have to  _ try _ , or else I am going to run out of the little patience I have left and I will be much more unpleasant than Dave is.” Four didn’t doubt him. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table. He spread his hands out with his palms up as a gesture for him to continue.

“Get your feet off the table,” Dave snapped. “And sit up straight. A prince would never-” 

“Oh, how do you know what a prince would and wouldn’t do?” Four shot back. 

“It’s my business to know what a prince would do,” Dave said. 

“Well how do you know this prince didn’t have a fucking personality?” 

Dave opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Diego. “Both of you need to stop. We’re all gonna have to get along if we want to get to Paris,” he said. Four looked at Diego then at Dave, whose face had fallen much like he imagined his own had. “Okay?” Diego prompted. The two others nodded, and Diego added, “Good. Now let’s keep going. Where were you born?” 

It had been hours since they started to go over the history of Klaus’ life, and they didn’t seem close to being done for the day. One of them would tell him family facts and stories, then the other would quiz him on it. Other than that, Four would go to work to get money to get papers and tickets to Paris. No one mentioned how that fund wasn’t growing anywhere near fast enough. 

One day, Diego must have determined the Four held onto enough facts and family history that they could move on to how to behave like royalty. That afternoon consisted of lots of criticism from Dave and Diego. 

“You can’t hold your spoon like that,” Dave said as soon as he picked the utensil up. 

“What the fuck does that even mean?” Four asked. 

“Royalty has their own  _ sophisticated _ ways of doing things,” Diego said and adjusted Four’s grip on the spoon. 

“Oh, are you fucking kidding me?” he asked incredulously once Diego finished his adjustments. “Who the fuck holds anything like this?” 

“Royalty,” Dave answered simply. 

“Well royalty is stupid,” Four mumbled. 

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Dave scoffed. 

“Then why are you so obsessed with Klaus?” Four asked, only half to irritate him. He did actually wonder sometimes. Dave rolled his eyes and remained silent. 

“Okay, let’s try something else,” Diego suggested. Four quickly dropped the spoon in relief. “Something a little more… basic.” 

“Okay, I’ll try not to take  _ that _ the wrong way,” Four said and slumped in his seat. 

“Sit up,” Dave instructed. 

“ _ Stand _ up,” Diego corrected. Four huffed and got to his feet. “Stand up  _ straighter _ .” 

“ _ I _ need to stand straight?” Four cried. “You’re the one not standing straight.” 

“He did too much bowing as a child,” Dave said. If Klaus didn’t know any better, he’d say he was teasing him. 

“Hey, I wasn’t going to ruin my friend’s parents’ lives because I didn’t bow the few times I visited the palace with them,” Diego defended and pointed a finger at Dave. “You’ve never bowed to  _ anyone _ ?” 

“I bowed to someone once,” Dave said. 

“So you admit it,” Deigo said in a celebratory tone. 

“I didn’t know any better,” Dave defended himself. 

Without warning, Four dipped into a bow, one hand behind his back and the other tucked against his chest. Dave and Diego stopped bickering to watch him stand back up.

“You’re both ridiculous,” he said. 

“Did you…” Dave started without looking away from Four. 

“No. You mean you didn’t…” Diego responded, not looking away either. 

“No.” 

“Oh, get over yourselves,” Four said. “I’m a natural,” he added with a smirk. Dave rolled his eyes. 

“Moving on,” he said pointedly. He opened his mouth to suggest what was next, but obviously didn’t know what that was. He turned to Diego. “So what’s next?” 

“Dancing,” Diego said far too enthusiastically for Four’s comfort. “Dave, get over there.” 

“Excuse me?” Dave said. 

“Uh, no,” Four said at the same time. He was not going to dance with Dave, even if there was no one but Diego around to see it. No way. No.

“Yes,” Diego said and actually  _ pushed _ Dave toward Four. Four glared at him over Dave’s shoulder and barely had enough time to let it fall before Dave turned around and faced him. They both took a tiny step toward each other so they could technically get in position without being too close to each other. Four stood up as straight as he could and held his arms out reluctantly for Dave to take his hands. He felt like someone stuck some of the loose floorboards to his limbs so all his movements were jerky and stiff. Dave didn’t look any happier about it all than he did. 

“Closer,” Diego said. Four took another tiny step toward Dave, who stood where he was like his feet were nailed to the floor. “ _ Closer _ ,” he said again. This time Dave took a small step. Four saw Diego roll his eyes over Dave’s shoulder. “You two are ridiculous,” he continued and pushed Dave again. He stumbled forward and his chest collided with Four’s. Four glared at him, but Dave only shrugged and gave him an apologetic half smile. Four rolled his eyes. 

“Let’s just get this over with,” he muttered and Diego began counting off. 

“One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two-” 

“Shit!” Four cried, cutting him off as Dave stepped on his toes only a few seconds after they started. He looked down at his foot then back up at Dave, who was grimacing at his own mistake. 

“Okay, not a bad start,” Diego said. “Again,” he added and started counting again. After about a minute of proper dancing- stiff, jerky dancing, but dancing nonetheless- Four kicked Dave in the shin. It may have been petty, but he may have done it on purpose. Yes, Four was willing to sink that low. Dave deserved it. 

“Ow!” Dave shouted and pulled away from Four.

“Okay, okay,” Diego said and stepped between the two of them. “Honestly, you’re doing better than I expected, Four.” He grinned at the praise, and his smile grew even more when he continued with, “That’s enough for today.” 

“Thank god,” Four muttered under his breath and turned away from them. 

“I actually need you guys physically able to dance if this is gonna happen,” Diego continued. “So no more  _ kicking _ .” Four didn’t need to be facing him to know Diego was glaring at him. 

Four laughed. “Fine.” 

It took Four a while to really pick up on the dancing thing, but he got it eventually. Dave even picked it up too. Diego made them put at least a few minutes a day into practicing, and a few weeks later they could gracefully glide across the palace floor.

Four thought things were going well.  _ Actually _ well. That feeling quickly disappeared one afternoon when Four found himself being dragged into Hazel’s office by two officers. 

This is it, he thought. He didn’t know what day it was or even how old he was, but he knew this was going to be the day he died. 

The officers shoved Four through a doorway and slammed the door behind him. The silhouette he recognized as Hazel was looking out the window with his back to Four. 

“It’s all so much better now, isn’t it?” Hazel asked, still taking in the view. Four’s heart was hammering in his chest as he answered. 

“Yes, I suppose it is,” he said carefully. 

“Yet  _ some people _ seem set on destroying everything we have put together here.” Hazel still didn’t turn around. “Why do you insist on pretending to be someone who could ruin the wonderful world we’ve built here?” 

“I don’t understand,” Four lied. Hazel finally turned around to look at him. As soon as he did, recognition flashed across his face, but he quickly recovered. “Oh, it’s you,” he said. “The street sweeper.” 

“Yes,” Four said. He felt a little bit bolder once he knew Hazel recognized him. “Is there a reason I’m here now instead of out sweeping the streets?” 

“Don’t play dumb,” Hazel said. “You and your  _ friends _ down at the old palace are going to get in serious trouble.” 

“For finding a place to sleep?”

“I said don’t play dumb,” he snapped. Four bit his lip and didn’t say anything. “I’m going to let you go this time,” he continued. “But if I see or hear anything about you three being near that palace again I will not be so lenient.” Four nodded and turned to leave, but was stopped by Hazel’s harsh voice once again. “Do you understand me, Four?” 

The use of his name sent a chill down his spine. The fact that Hazel knew his name told him how serious it all was. That and the look in Hazel’s eyes. And it wasn’t dangerous just for him, but for Diego and Dave as well. 

“Yes,” he said, putting all his effort into keeping his voice steady. “Yes, I understand.” 

Hazel nodded once, firmly. “Good. You may leave now.” 

Four didn’t need to hear it twice. He turned on his heels and left the office, the hallway, and the building as fast as he could. His mind was reeling. He needed to find Dave and Diego and they needed to get the fuck out of there. 

“Shit,” he hissed and ran his fingers through his hair as he hurried down the street. It wasn’t until he was almost there that he realized going to the palace probably wasn’t the best idea. He didn’t stop moving, though. 

“Four!” someone yelled from behind him. He spun around so fast he almost lost his balance and fell off his feet but someone grabbed his shoulders and held him upright. 

“Woah, woah,” Dave said. “Four, are you okay?” 

“Shit, Dave,” Four said. “We’re fucked.” 

“What?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing. “What are you talking about?” 

“Hazel,” Four replied breathlessly. 

“Hazel? What about Hazel?” 

“He knows where we are,” Four said. “What we’re doing.” 

“Fuck,” Dave said and finally took his hands off Four’s shoulders. “We need to get out of here.” 

“Diego. Fuck, we hacve to find Diego,” Four said. 

“Yeah, I think he’s-” 

“Hey, Davey!” Another voice came from behind Four. Dave looked over his shoulder and grimaced as Four turned around. There was a group of three men stumbling down the street in a way that was all too familiar to Four. He didn’t recognize them, but judging by the way Dave's entire body stiffened he did. 

“What do you want?” Dave asked and stepped around Four so he was standing between him and the group. 

“It’s been a long time, my friend,” one of them, who appeared to be a leader, slurred as they took another step toward them. 

“We’re not friends,” Dave responded coolly. 

“Hey, man,” the leader said, but stopped when he looked over Dave’s shoulder at Four. 

“Hey, maybe your new friend here will be our friend if you don’t wanna be.” He tried to reach around Dave to grab his arm, but Four jerked away before he could make contact. 

“Don’t touch him,” Dave growled. The other man laughed and raised his hands in foux innocence. 

“Hey,  _ I’m _ not gonna do anything,” he said. The two other men behind him stepped around him and ran toward Dave and Four. 

“Shit,” Four hissed as he ducked one of the guy’s punches. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Dave tackle the other runner. 

Four’s guy stumbled when his fist didn’t make contact with Four’s face, so he took it as his chance to spin around and jump on the guy’s back. He stumbled even more onder Four’s weight, and he slid off his back as he fell face first onto the ground. He kicked him once in the stomach to keep him down and turned back to the first guy. 

But he was gone. He had already taken off down the street. The man Dave was fighting fell to the ground with a groan a second later, then Dave was standing next to him watching the last man run. 

“We should probably get out of here, too,” Dave said. 

“Yeah,” Four agreed. Dave grabbed his arm and pulled him down the street in the opposite direction of the other man. 

“How do you know him?” Four asked as they turned a corner away from the two men still lying on the ground. 

“I don’t have the best past,” Dave said as they walked. 

“Yeah, well, neither do I,” Four said. “At least, the parts of it I remember.” He didn’t know why he said that. He didn’t want to open up to Dave. Dave was frustrating and annoying. Sure, he wasn’t too bad to look at, strong jawline and bone structure and nice eyes, but everytime Four started to think  _ maybe _ he was okay, he snapped at him again. “Where are we going?” he asked to change the subject. 

“I want to show you something,” Dave said. They walked for a few more minutes in silence until they came to an empty back street along the Neva. 

“It’s a nice view,” Four said after a moment, not sure what else there was to say. 

“My dad used to bring me here when I was younger,” Dave said without looking at Four. “So young I actually don’t remember it all that well.” 

“What do you mean?” Four asked softly. 

“My dad died when I was a kid,” Dave explained. “By that time my mother was gone too.” 

“You grew up alone?” Four asked. 

“Alone on the streets,” Dave said. He finally looked as Four and gave him a tight, strained smile. 

“That makes two of us,” Four said and walked to the railing blocking the street from the river. Dave walked up next to him and leaned against the railing.

“Growing up on the streets I got into a lot of shit I wish I hadn’t,” Dave said. 

“Is that how you know those guys?” Four asked. 

Dave nodded. “Yeah. They helped me survive for a while there. I didn’t like how they did it, but I didn’t have much of a choice.” 

“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Four mused and looked over at him. 

“Yeah, exactly,” Dave said sadly. “Diego didn’t last long in the group, ended up in a fight with one of the higher up guys. I figured, I like Diego more than them, so I left them when he did. We’re been scraping by ever since.” Four hummed. He didn’t know how else to let Dave know he was listening without putting his entire foot in his mouth. He looked down at the river as Dave continued. “Just going, trying not to do things the same way they did.” 

“Did their way include getting drunk and stumbling into fights like that?” Four asked. 

“Yeah,” Dave scoffed then shook his head shamefully as he continued. “I did it all with them for a while- at the least just to have a place to stay, ya know?” Four nodded. “Then I realized there were better ways to spend what little I had in the first place.” 

“Yeah,” Four said, remembering what he could of all the nights he spent blowing money on alcohol trying to make the shadows go away. “Yeah, I’ve been there myself.” 

“Yeah?” Dave questioned. Four could tell he was trying not to pry, but he figured  _ hey, it couldn’t make Dave think any less of him than he already did _ , so he continued. 

“Yeah, I used to drink like that,” he started then paused to try to find the best way to explain his decisions. “My whole life, I… You don’t know what it’s like, not to know who you are,” he said firmly and looked over at Dave. He was surprised to find Dave watching him curiously. He didn’t seem to be judging him yet. “My whole life, I’ve always felt close to answers. It’s like seeing something in the corner of your eye then turning to look for it and it’s gone. Like an old friend’s name on the tip of your tongue but you just can’t remember it, ya know?” 

“That’s a terrible feeling,” Dave said sympathetically. 

“Everything’s like that.” Frustration laced his voice, and he took a deep breath. “Everytime I think I got close to  _ finally _ remembering something, it just slips away. He could hear the defeat in his own voice. 

“Four, that’s terrible,” Dave said softly. “I can’t imagine.” 

“Yeah,” Four said distantly. “So I decided if I couldn’t remember that stuff, I wouldn’t remember anything.” Four looked back down at his hands. “I drank until I couldn’t get my hands on alcohol anymore. By the time I could again, I realized if I started again I wouldn’t be able to stop. Haven’t touched the stuff since.” 

Silence hung heavily between them once he finished. Four began tapping his fingers on the railing in an attempt to make some kind of noise. 

“Four, that’s great,” Dave eventually said. There was something almost soft in his tone that Four couldn’t quite figure out. When he looked over at him, he saw it in his face too. A small, genuine smile was on his lips, almost like he was trying to suppress it. Four almost bought it, but his eyes were shining enough to give it away. Four realized it was  _ awe _ or  _ pride _ . “I’ve known enough people who went down that path to know that it’s not an easy one to get off of.” 

Four scoffed and looked away from him again, not able to see that expression on his face when he knew he didn’t deserve it. “I didn’t really have much of a choice to stop. I was literally not able to keep drinking.” 

“But then when you did you realized you shouldn’t,” Dave insisted. Four shook his head. “That’s a lot more than some people I’ve known.” 

“Whatever,” Four dismissed. He wanted this conversation to end. “So there’s my fucked up story. I know I play the ‘ _ don’t remember shit _ ’ card a lot, but as much as I don’t want it to be, it’s become too much of who I am.” 

“I think it’s fair enough,” Dave said, but he was still looking at Four like that. It was obvious  _ he _ didn’t want to drop the conversation, but he let it go. “I mean, you had no idea who you are, you did your best to survive, and now me and Diego are putting all this pressure on you to get ready so we can all get out of here.” 

Four shook his head. “Yeah, that’s one way of saying it,” he said lightly. Dave smiled- a real one this time. 

“Look, I know we didn’t get started on the best foot,” he said. 

“Oh, yeah, that’s one way of saying it,” Four repeated, slightly exaggerated this time. They both chuckled and looked down at the water below them. 

“I know I've been stubborn and frustrating,” Dave continued. “But I’m really impressed by how well you’ve picked some of this stuff up.” 

“Thanks, I guess,” Four said. 

“Here, I have something else to show you,” Dave said and turned to rummage in the messenger bag at his side. “Diego and I found it when we first started staying in the palace.” 

He pulled something out of his back and held it out for Four to take. Once it was in his hands, Four realized it was a round, metal box. The top of it was obviously meant to open, but when Four ran his fingers over the outline and its hinges he couldn’t get it to open. 

“I think it’s broken,” Dave said. “Neither of us can get it open.” 

Four ignored Dave’s words and ran his fingers along the bottom of the box. He had another one of those feelings, like there was something familiar just out of his memory’s reach. The same feeling he had when he got his first good look at the theater or when Dave was teaching him to bow. 

His fingers hit a snag along the smooth surface. He gently pressed it, and the top opened. A soft song began playing from the box. 

“It’s a music box,” Dave said as the realization hit him. 

“I know this song,” Four said quickly, ignoring Dave as he spoke again. “I don’t know what it is but I recognize it. It’s a… shadow, an old name.” He hoped the references to their earlier conversation would help Dave understand exactly why he reacted like this. 

“Wha-  _ oh _ ,” Dave said, but stopped when Four began humming along with the music box. 

Four’s eyes were wide as he stared at the music box. Where did he know this from? Everytime he thought he could find the answer in his mind and muddled memories, it was suddenly gone. By the time the song ended and the lid closed he was biting his bottom lip in frustration. 

“Four?” Dave’s voice ripped Four from his thoughts. His eyes jerked back into focus and he looked at Dave. “You okay?” 

“Yeah,” he answered with a nod. He held the music box close to his chest. “We have to get out of here,” he added firmly. “They’re cancelling trains left and right.” 

Dave’s face fell. “We don’t have enough. We’re nowhere near enough.” 

“I can try to pick up some extra shifts,” Four argued and took a set forward, eyes wide and a little wild. “We can-” 

“It won’t be enough,” Dave cut him off sadly. “Or soon enough. We can give you your money back, but-” 

“What? No.” 

“It’s your money,” Dave insisted. 

“It’s  _ our _ money!” Four yelled. “I trusted you!” 

“I’m sorry,” Dave signed. Four could tell by the way his shoulder sank and he dragged a hand down his face that he meant it. 

“But I didn’t trust you enough,” Four said and bit his bottom lip again. He didn’t trust Dave enough to tell them any earlier. Four had one thing for himself. He owned one thing, only had one thing to his name. Now he was about to lose it, but he was surprised to find it didn’t upset him. 

“Look, Dave,” Four started and took a step toward him. Dave shook his head and took a step back. 

“I said I’m sorry Four,” he said without looking at him. 

“No, I-”

“Four-” 

Four frantically reached into his pocket. He kept it in a small box so he could always feel it to be sure it was there. He didn’t hesitate to pull the box out of the pocket and hold it out to Dave. 

“What is that?” he asked and eyes to box warily. 

“The way to Paris,” Four said and shoved the box into his hands. He looked at it, up at Four’s face, and back down at the box before taking it. He opened it quickly, and his jaw dropped as soon as he moved the lid and saw the diamond. 

“Is that…” he looked up and trailed off when Four nodded. “Why didn’t you say anything before?” 

“It’s all I have,” Four said. “Without it I have- no.” He stopped and quickly corrected himself. “No, without it I  _ am _ nothing.” 

Dave sighed. “Where did you get it?” he asked instead of arguing anymore. 

“When I woke up in the orphanage infirmary, one of the nurses had found it sewn into my clothes,” he explained. “Well, that and ‘Four.’” 

“What?” Dave asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

“That’s where my name came from,” Four elaborated. “They found ‘Number Four’ sewn into every piece of clothing I was wearing when they found me. The diamond was on my pants. One nurse hid it for me and gave it to me when I left and told me not to tell anyone about it unless I really,  _ really _ trusted them.” 

Four stared right into Dave’s eyes and hoped he understood how significant him handing that box over actually was. He must have, because he looked down and picked the diamond up out of the box and said, “You  _ are _ something without this, ya know?” Four finally looked away. 

“Four! Dave! They raided the palace, we can’t go back there,” Diego said and came running up behind Dave. Dave quickly spun around and held the diamond up for Diego to see. 

“What the fuck is that?” he asked and stopped in his tracks when he saw what was in Dave’s hand. “Because there is no way it is what I think it is.” 

“It is,” Dave said and pointed over his shoulder to Four. “He had it the whole time.” 

“I didn’t trust either of you with it,” Four quickly jumped in to defend himself. 

“I can’t say I blame you,” Diego said, finally looking away from the diamond and at Four. 

“We have to get on a train out of here,  _ now _ ,” Dave said. 

“Yeah,” Four agreed. “That’s a train to Paris that leaves in the morning.” 

“Diego, can you get us papers?” Dave asked. Diego nodded and Dave handed over the diamond. “We all need to be ready to go by morning.” They all nodded. 

“I’ll go collect my last pay,” Four said. “I’ll meet you in the morning at the train station.” 

“Perfect,” Dave said. Four nodded and turned around to leave. “Be careful!” Dave called after him. Four turned back to face him. Dave was looking at him with an expression Four couldn’t quite decipher. 

“You too,” he said with a nod. Dave returned the gesture and Four ran off to find his soon-to-be ex-boss, his heart pounding. 

He was finally going to Paris. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh pls come talk to me on tumblr @lastyoungrene-gay-de about tua or the fic or anything at all, really!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey i know this chapter took a little longer than planned, but i started working last week and don't have as much time to focus on writing as much. sorry. hope you enjoy!  
> also!! please read the tag updates, there is some minor character death that lines up with the plot of the broadway musical of Anastasia.

“ _ Train twelve to Paris, now boarding on track four _ !”

The group was standing in front of track four, each trying to get one last look at the city through the grimy windows as the announcement blared from speakers accompanied by patchy static. 

“Well, this is it,” Diego said. Neither Dave nor Four said anything, and Diego continued. “Fuckin’  _ bye _ .” There was a sense of finality in his voice, and Dave was pretty sure he had just checked a task off his mental to-do list. It was enough to get him to chuckle, but Four still stood with a small frown on his face. 

Suddenly, an old, wrinkled man walked right up to Four, taking long strides surprisingly quickly for his age and how much of his weight he had to put on the cane supporting him as he walked. He stopped directly in front of Four and dropped into a deep bow. Dave felt Four go stiff next to him and Diego’s head whip around to watch the interaction. Dave’s own eyes widened when he realized what was going on. 

“Bless you,” the man muttered. A second later, he stood on wobbly knees and walked away as quickly as he’d arrived. Dave looked at Diego, who was watching the man go. 

“I know him,” he said softly and looked back over at them. “I don’t remember his name, but everyone at court called him Pogo. He was a count and an intellectual.” He made eye contact with each of them before he finished. “He’s a dead man on both counts.” 

“Yeah, well,” Dave mumbled and adjusted the strap of the messenger bag on his shoulder. “If he was such an intellectual he’d know better than to bow at anyone.” Four huffed in agreement but still didn’t say anything. 

“We should probably get going,” Diego said and turned to the steps to board the train. Dave nodded but stayed where he was for a moment. 

He watched the people hurrying around the station. Faces he would have sworn he recognized but couldn’t say why or from where. Just the faces of St. Petersburg- or Leningrad- or whatever they were calling the city that day. He stole one last glance out the dirty window at the streets where he grew up. For as long as he dreamed of getting out of Russia he thought he’d be happy to leave, but he had to admit there was a part of him that was sad to be leaving. 

Luckily, that part of him was very small, and he turned to follow Diego onto the train. He took another look at Fout as he turned, and saw he was still standing with his back to the train. Dave watched him for a second, then decided to give him a minute or two. He got on board and sat next to Diego in the row of seats he’d claimed near the entrance. They sat silently and waited for Four until the conductor made another announcement and the train slowly began to shift and jerk into motion. Four still hadn’t gotten on. 

“Shit,” Dave hissed and jumped out of his seat. He hurried to the compartment door. He pulled it open and scanned the sea of people by the track looking for Four’s dark curly hair. “Four!” he called. “Four, come on!” Someone whipped around as he yelled, and Dave was met with Four’s bright green eyes. They widened when he realized why Dave was yelling his name. He mouthed ‘ _ shit _ ’ and started running to the train. Dave braced himself against the doorway as the train gained speed. Four was getting closer, and Dave held out a hand for him to grab. He hauled him into the compartment as soon as he got a good enough grip on his hand. He stumbled backwards as Four’s feet found the train’s floor, and he ended up pulling Four with him because they were still holding hands. 

Instinctively, Dave shifted so one of his legs was behind the other and put the majority of his weight on that leg. He leaned back to catch Four and brought the hand that wasn’t holding the other man’s up to his side to try to steady him. “Woah, shit,” he said under his breath when he finally found his balance. “Shit,” he repeated when he looked down at Four, who was leaning against his chest looking up at him. Dave did his best to ignore the way his heart began beating a little faster looking down at Four. 

Four regained his composure sooner than Dave did. He stood up straight and stepped away from Dave. It was another few seconds before he looked away from him and pulled his hand out of Dave’s. Dave shook his head to push out any thoughts about the way Four’s hand felt in his and led him to their seats. Dave sat down in the middle seat next to Diego and Four sat next to him. Dave looked over at Diego, who raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. 

They sat in silence for the first while on the train, taking their now free time to calm down and let all the craziness in the last twenty four hours sink in. Apparently though, Four was still Four despite the weird snag at the station, and soon he began to fill the silence. 

“So what do we do when we get to Paris?” Four asked and turned to look at them. If Dave wasn’t so sure Four hated him, he would have sworn his eyes lingered on him. He didn’t know how to feel when he realized he liked the idea. 

“We have to find Eudora Patch,” Diego said, and Dave looked over at him. They’d gotten out of Russia, they were in Diego’s territory now. “She’s Ben’s closest friend other than Klaus,” Diego explained. “She went to Paris around the same time he did, and any potential Klauses have to go to her first.” 

“Did she know Klaus?” Four asked. Dave didn’t see how that was relevant, but he didn’t say anything about it. 

“They met a few times,” Diego answered. “At least, that she told me about.” 

Four leaned over to get a better look at Diego around Dave. “You knew her?” 

“You remember I was telling you about my friend whose parents worked in the palace?” 

“Yea-  _ ohh _ ,” Four said and realization washed over his face. 

“Yeah,” Diego said with a nod. He quickly looked away and bit his bottom lip. Dave didn’t think much of it, but apparently Four did because a few seconds later he gasped and shifted in his seat. Then, suddenly, he leaned over and put his elbows on Dave’s thighs and rested his chin on the palms of his hands. It caught Dave off guard and he tried to stand up and get out of the seat entirely, but Four wasn’t the slightest bit fazed by the action and continued. “Did you  _ like _ her?” he asked. Dave raised his eyebrows and looked at Diego. 

“I was a kid,” he scoffed in response. 

“Kids get crushes,” Four said without missing a beat. 

“Shut up,” Diego muttered and looked down at his hands. 

“That sounds like a yes,” Dave said. Diego looked up at, eye narrowing in anger. 

“Shut up, Dave,” he said with betrayal in his voice. Four laughed, and Dave looked down at him and chuckled too. Four looked up at him with a smile, but quickly let it drop as he sat up. Dave made an effort not to follow him with his eyes. 

God what the fuck was up with him? Was one conversation about their childhoods really enough to make him get like this? He didn’t necessarily not like Four before that conversation. Sure, he thought Four was annoying and kind of rude at first, and after the Neva everything about him made a little more sense, but this was just too far. Besides, it was stupid since he was fairly sure Four hated him anyway, and he doubted their conversation could have changed  _ his _ opinion that much. 

Dave was ripped from his thoughts by someone stopping in the aisle by Four’s seat. He looked over and a burst of adrenaline shot through his system when he recognized the officer’s uniform. Four looked over at Diego, who sat up straighter in his seat. 

“Can we help you?” he asked the officer. 

“I need to see your papers,” the man replied coolly. Diego leaned down and slowly began rifling through his bag, so slow Dave knew he was trying to stall. 

“Is there a problem?” he asked without looking up. 

“We’re looking for someone illegally leaving the country.” 

“Didn’t have the right papers, huh?” Diego joked, making Dave cringe. 

“His papers were fine,” the officer said stiffly, watching Diego with a close eye. “He had the wrong name. Count Hargreeves, more commonly known as Pogo. He-” He was cut off by a gunshot and people screaming. 

Dave almost jumped out of his skin, Diego ducked and put his hands over the back of his head. The reaction that really worried Dave was Four’s. Luckily, as soon as the shot rang out the officer rushed to the scene, so he didn’t see the way Four curled in on himself so fast he nearly fell out of his seat. The only reason he didn’t was because Dave grabbed his shoulders when he began to fall. He tried to pull him back up, but Four didn’t seem capable of keeping himself upright, so he ended up with his face pressed to Dave’s side. His hands weren’t covering the back of his head like Diego or a few of the other passengers around them, but instead were pressed over his ears. There were tears in his eyes and he was breathing so fast Dave was sure it wasn’t doing him any good. 

“Four,” he said lightly. “Four, it’s okay.” He put a hand on the back of his head to try to calm him down. Fours just sucked in a huge breath of air in response. 

“I’ll go… see what happened,” Diego said flatly and stood up. 

“I think we can guess what happened,” Dave snapped at him. Diego didn’t say anything but left them in their seats anyway. 

“Four, it’s okay,” Dave said again and moved his hand from Four’s head to his back. “You’re okay.” 

Four pulled away from Dave’s side enough that his voice was clear when he spoke. “That’s what he said as we were running,” he said. 

“Running?” Dave repeated, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “Who? Four what are you talking about?” 

“What glass broke?” Four asked instead of answering. He pulled even further away from his side and looked up at him. Dave gently reached up and pulled Four’s hands away from his ears. 

“Four, no glass broke,” he said. “Seriously, what…” he trailed off when Four began looking around the train car in mystified confusion. 

“I… I don’t know,” he said and looked back at Dave. Dave could see something in his eyes that he’d never seen there before- fear. Four was fucking scared. 

“Four-” Dave started and began to move his hand to Four’s face, but was stopped when Diego ran back to their seats. 

“We’re in trouble,” he said and began grabbing their bags. 

“What are you talking ab-” 

“They have  _ wanted posters _ with  _ our faces on them _ ,” Diego hissed back and pulled Four out of his seat. 

“ _ Shit _ ,” Dave said and jumped up. “What do we do?” 

“ _ I don’t know _ ,” Diego said but began walking toward the door. 

“We’re gonna have to jump,” Four said on Diego’s heels. 

“How are we gonna jump? The train’s still moving,” Dave said, not liking the direction this idea was going. 

“We’ll figure it out, Davey,” Four said as Diego pulled the door open.  _ Davey _ ? He pushed Four’s use of a nickname out of his head to focus on the life threatening situation unfolding. 

They hurried through the door and Dave slammed it shut behind them. Luckily for them, they were in the last train car, so there was a small platform for them to stand on while they tried to pull their crappy plan together. A small voice in the back of Dave’s mind asked why there wasn’t an officer or an employee of the train company guarding the platform, but he pushed it away. All he needed to know was that there weren’t, why wasn’t a priority at the moment. 

“On three?” Four suggested. 

“Oh, fuck off,” Dave shot back and looked at the groud quickly flying by under them. Snow banks were piled up on either side of the train, so jumping might not have been as bad an idea as he originally thought. He heard yelling coming from inside the train car over the wind howling in his ears. He whipped around to look at the door then back at Four. “Okay, maybe not a terrible idea.” 

“Okay,” Four said and tilted his head. “On three.” He repeated. 

“I fucking hate you,” Diego mumbled and tightened his grip on the bag in his hand.

“One,” Four said. The yelling and crashing got louder. “Two.” The door began to rattle and creak as someone inside grabbed it. “Three.” The door opened. 

The three of them jumped. 

*****

“Where even are we?” Four asked as he looked around, taking in the terrain around them. They’d been walking for a while now, having jumped off the train to escape the guards. Four knew they were still in Russia, but that was about all he could tell. 

“The Polish border is about ten kilometers that way,” Dave said and pointed in the direction they were walking. “We’ll be safe there.” He frowned. “Well, saf _ er _ at least.” 

Four nodded in understanding and looked at Diego's back as he walked ahead of them. He pursed his lips as he thought. Despite the fact that it would probably make the most sense for him to be thinking about it, he wasn’t thinking about how he reacted to the gunshot on the train or having to jump it still in motion. 

Dave’s words from the night before had been running through his mind since he collected his last pay and no longer had anything else to focus on.  _ You are something without this _ . But really, how did he fucking know? Did he really think so? Four really cared what he thought all of a sudden. 

And then earlier, when they were on the train, he just wanted to be  _ close _ to him. When they first got on the train and he almost knocked Dave to the ground by accident but Dave  _ caught _ him. Okay, maybe it was more of him falling right into Dave, but then they just  _ stood there _ . Four couldn’t stop thinking about it, especially because now he realized he was wrong about Dave before. 

God, what the fuck was wrong with him? Now was not the time for this. This, all the learning and the trip to Paris, was about his past.  _ Not _ whatever this would be. 

“Can I ask you something?” he said before he could stop himself. 

Dave looked at him, clearly a little surprised, but a second later he smiled and nodded. “Of course.” 

Four looked back down at his feet and started, “Well, when you… never mind, it’s stupid.” 

“ _ Four _ .”

“You’ll just laugh at me or call me dumb or something.” 

“I  _ will not _ ,” Dave laughed, obviously trying to lighten the mood Four had just pulled down. 

“Okay, so…” he trailed off and looked between his feet in the snow and Diego’s back. “So, when we were talking last night… and I gave you the diamond…” 

“Yeah?” Dave prompted when he trailed off again. 

“When you said I was something without it, what did you mean?” he said quickly, as if he thought he wouldn’t be able to say it in a few seconds. 

“What do you mean, ‘what did I mean?’” Dave scoffed. “I meant you’re more than something that you  _ own _ . You’re a fucking person, Four. A person who has been through shit but is still here, doing your best. Actually  _ doing _ .” Dave pushed his shoulder lightly, sending Four off course for a few steps. “I mean,  _ fuck _ Four, in the last few hours alone you’re jumped both onto  _ and _ off of a moving train. You’re something without a fucking diamond.” 

Four looked at him shyly. Not sure what else to say, he muttered, “Thanks.” 

“I’m serious,” Dave said earnestly. 

“Whatever,” Four said. After another few steps Dave spoke again. 

“Now can I ask you something?”

Four looked back up at him hesitantly. “Yeah, sure.” 

“What happened back at the train station?” he asked. “When you almost missed the train?”

Four sighed and bit his lip as he tried to find a way to explain. “I don’t know, there was just something about leaving that… that really got to me, I guess,” he tried to explain. 

“Haven’t you been trying to leave your whole life?” Dave asked. There was no criticism or judgement in his voice. Four was so thrown off by it that he didn’t bother correcting Dave by saying ‘for as long as he remembered.’ 

“Yeah, but… it was still my home, ya know?” Four said and shook his head. “I know it’s stupid. Nothing good happened to me there, but I don’t know anywhere else.” 

“No, no,” Dave said quickly. “You don’t have to defend yourself. I understand.” Four turned and gave him an expression of disbelief. “No really, I understand,” he repeated. “I felt something weird in the station too. Leaving felt wrong somehow.” 

“Exactly,” Four said and threw his hands out to emphasize how well Dave put it. “And at the same time…”

“What?” Dave asked softly, clearly not wanting to push him too far. 

“I never really thought about it before,” Four started. “But what if they’re not in Paris?” Dave furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth to say something else, but Diego’s voice came from ahead of them. 

“Hey! Slowpokes!” Dave turned away from Four to glare at him. “Can you please hurry up? We gotta get somewhere with shelter fairly soon!” 

“Calm down, we’ll be fine!” Four yelled back. Diego turned around to face them, but kept walking backwards. 

“I have no interest in freezing out here!” He said. “We do have to get to Paris.” 

Four rolled his eyes but picked up the pace. He was grateful when Dave didn’t ask about anything else from the conversation that had just been cut short. 

Standing in the mass of people at the train station, fear washed over Four as he thought of something he never had before. What if whoever he was looking for wasn’t actually in Paris? They could be anyone. Anywhere. He could have looked at them as they rushed around him in the train station and he was about to miss the chance to find them, forever. What if Paris wasn’t even real? Well,  _ obviously _ Paris was real, but what if his connection to it wasn’t? Maybe  _ together in Paris _ was the figment of a lonely boy’s imagination and there was nothing for him there either. 

Four shook the thoughts from his head once again as they walked, refusing to believe it. It had to be the stress from the last few weeks of learning and hiding catching up to him. It had to be. 

They were slowly making progress, but Four couldn’t help thinking how much easier all of it would be if they were still on the train. They found a small inn across the Polish border to stay at for the night and get a plan together for the next few days. Things should get a lot easier from here since they didn’t have to worry about the Russian authorities anymore. 

“Do we have any idea what the fuck we’re doing now?” Four asked. Dave and Diego both looked at each other. Both of them clearly expected the other to have and answer. Four shook his head. “You two are fucking useless.” 

“Says the guy who had us jump off a moving train,” Dave scoffed jokingly. 

“Are we dead?” Four lightly joked back. 

“Both of you shut up,” Diego said. From the harshness in his voice, Four didn’t think he could tell they were joking. “We’ll figure it out.” Dave and Four looked at each other and smiled slyly. 

“Will we?” Four asked, faking innocence. 

“Fine,  _ I _ will figure it out,” Diego corrected. 

“That’s more like it,” Four said and leaned back in his seat. 

“You  _ can _ help, ya know?” Diego poked back. 

“Why would I? I’m the royalty here.” He shrugged. 

“Well, he’s gonna be fine after all this,” Dave laughed. “No need to worry about that anymore.” He and Four looked at each other and laughed. Diego gave both of them a weird look but didn’t say anything. Four hoped Diego couldn’t tell he was thinking about Dave’s smile when he laughed. 

Four spent the next few days joking around with Dave and Diego as they walked, hitchhiked, and actually took a  _ boat _ on their way to Paris. Other than the train jumping incident, their trip was fairly uneventful until the truck driver they’d caught a ride from stopped in what seemed to be nowhere. 

“Why are we stopping?” Dave asked and twisted in his seat to get a better look at the driver. 

“I’ll go ask,” Diego said and stood from his seat. Dave must have decided  _ now _ was the best time to acknowledge Four’s worries. 

“Hey, about what you were saying the other day,” he said quietly to keep the words between the two of them. Four looked at him with his eyebrows furrowed, faking misunderstanding to avoid the conversation. “About them not being in Paris.” 

“Oh, that,” Four said and dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “Don’t worry about it.” 

“Four-” 

“This is as far as he goes,” Diego said, suddenly reappearing behind them. He pointed to the hill the driver had stopped at the base of. “We’re close, though. Over the hill you can just see Paris.” 

“Woah, really?” Dave asked and squirmed in his seat to try to look over the hill as if he could see it from moving just that little bit. It almost made Four laugh. 

“Yeah, grab your bags and let’s go,” Diego ushered them from their seats. They quickly thanked the truck driver and hurried up the hill to get a look at the city. 

“Oh, wow,” Four said when it first came into view. All this time dreaming of Paris and he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but for some reason it still shocked him. Even from all the way out here, Four could tell the city was full of  _ life _ in a way St. Petersburg never was. It seemed so light and lively it almost seemed to float off the ground. 

“This is it,” he mumbled under his breath. He looked at Dave and Diego, who both seemed as stunned by the city as he was. They took a few more moments to look at the city in silence, then Dave turned to look at Four. 

“Well,” Dave said with a small smile. “Let’s go find out who you are.” 

*****

“The train crossed the Russain border and they  _ weren’t on it _ ?” Hazel’s superior barked through the telephone. 

“Well, ma’am,” he started, but The Handler cut him off. 

“You  _ find them _ ,” she said, venom dripping from her voice. “Finish what your partner started.” 

Hazel’s grip on the telephone tightened at the mention of his old partner Cha-Cha. She trained him and helped him work through the ranks of the organization when he was younger once they started working together. She was part of the group that attacked the palace the night the royal family was killed. There were also some that claimed she pulled the trigger on at least one of them herself. 

“Understood?” The Handler’s voice came through the telephone again. Hazel set his shoulders before he answered even though she couldn’t see it. 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Good.” And the line went dead. Hazel slowly put the receiver back on its hook as he considered what The Handler had just told him to do. 

He was going to Paris, and he was going to kill Four. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please come talk to me about tua on tumblr!! @lastyoungrene-gay-de !!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *takes a while to update* *updates a second time three days later* TIME IS FAKE BABEY

Ben heard the door shut as yet another Not Klaus left. He closed his eyes and slumped in his chair with a sigh. Patch quietly walked into the room without a word. 

“I can’t do this anymore, Patch,” he said without opening his eyes. 

“What?” she asked softly. He wasn’t sure if she was asking for clarification or for him to repeat himself. 

“I can’t do this anymore, I can’t see anymore of them,” he said, doing his best to cover both options. 

“Ben,” she said softly and he finally opened his eyes. 

“Patch…” he trailed off and shook his head. 

“I understand,” Patch said. “It’s hard. But are you sure?” 

Ben was surprised to find that he was. He said it as a throw away joke about how much this all sucked before they started again, but  _ god _ he was tired. And he couldn’t do this anymore. He wanted to believe Klaus was still out there, alive and breathing and walking around with whatever reason he had for not coming to Ben, but all these years later, was there a point in hoping? 

He thought back to the day it all happened, when they were running out of the palace and to the train. The way Klaus didn’t seem to know what was happening and was numbly following Ben wherever he was taking him. He thought about getting on the train. He should have let Klaus on first. When he fell, Ben should have jumped off the train after him. He should have made sure he was okay. 

Had he even survived the fall to the snow? Had he gotten up? Or had he frozen to death in the snow bank? Had he gotten up and been recognized as the prince and been killed then? 

The only comfort he took was in the man behind him on the train, who’d pulled him back to keep him on board.  _ He’s gone, he’s gone, there’s nothing you can do _ , he had said as Ben screamed for Klaus to get up, for someone to help him.  _ I’m sorry, there’s nothing you can do now _ . He didn’t let go of Ben’s arm until they were long out of St. Petersburg. He’d pulled him into the train car and made him sit down, the whole time Ben was kicking and screaming. Screaming for him to let him go, kicking his shins and wailing for his friend. 

Sometimes, when things got bad, Ben would blame the man for what happened to Klaus. He would blame him that Klaus’ fate was a mystery. If he hadn’t held him back would Ben have stayed on the train or gone after Klaus? Would Klaus still be gone, or would he be sitting in the room in the flat in Paris with him right now? But deep down, Ben knew it was his fault. He shouldn’t have let anyone stop him, and now he still had no idea what had happened to Klaus that night. And he was realizing now that he probably never would. 

He shook the memories out of his head. There was nothing he could do about it now. 

“I’m sure,” he said firmly. “I can’t do this anymore. He’s gone.” Patch looked at him with sad eyes, but didn’t fight him. 

“Okay,” she said. “I won’t let any more of them in.”

*****

Paris was not what Diego expected. He was used to the dullness of Leningrad, but here the streets were busy and bright. They found a hotel to stay in for the next few nights and immediately collapsed onto the beds. They didn’t even care that there were only two beds so two of them would have to share. These beds were far bigger than the empty sacks they curled up on in Russia anyway, so space wouldn’t be an issue. 

Suddenly, Four sat straight up with a gasp. “Do you think they have a bath tub in here?” He didn’t wait for an answer, just jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom in their room. A few seconds after he passed through the doorway he yelled out, “oh my god they do!” He slammed the bathroom door shut behind him as Dave laughed. 

Diego had spent the last few days hoping what he thought was happening wasn’t actually happening. Watching Dave smile and laugh long after Four was out of view was just confirmation that it was. 

“Don’t do this, Dave,” he said and closed his eyes. He was already drifting off to sleep before Dave responded. 

“Do what?” he asked. Diego didn’t bother answering as he fell asleep. 

They didn’t leave the hotel until the next morning when they were rested and ready to fully take in the city. While Dave and Four were excited to explore, Diego was more focused in finding any relevant information on Ben and Eudora. There would be plenty of time to enjoy Paris when their futures there were more certain. 

Later that day, when Dave and Four had seen enough of the city, the group went back to the hotel and Diego got ready to go out and find Eudora. 

“Where are you going?” Four asked when he was about to leave. They’d managed to get enough money for each of them to buy a clean set of clothes, and Diego smoothed his shirt down as he answered. 

“Where I learned all the Russians in Paris go out for the night,” he said. 

“Which is?” 

“The Neva Club,” Diego said. “Which is why  _ I’m _ going and not Dave.” Four looked away but didn’t say anything. 

“Fair enough,” Dave called from the bathroom where he was washing off. 

“I thought you were going because you were friends with her before,” Four said. 

“Yeah, we were both gonna go, but I’m not taking Dave to a bar,” Diego said and made his way toward the door. “I’m heading out. Hopefully I’ll be back with a plan.” 

“Okay,” Four said as the door shut behind Diego. 

He wandered the streets of Paris for a while, not sure exactly where he was going. Eventually, once the sun had gone all the way down, he stumbled across the club’s entrance, the red neon letters lighting up the street in front of the building. He nodded at the employee standing by the door as he entered. 

Walking into the club was like walking back in time to visiting the palace. Everything glittered and most people were dressed extravagantly. Knowing he probably stuck out like a sore thumb, he stayed in the shadows and searched the crowd from a distance. 

It was odd realizing these people had never known another Russian than the one they were still pretending to be in. They had never seen Petersburg how it was now, dull and drab and cutthroat. 

“Oh, come on Eudora!” A gruff, obviously drunk voice cut through the room. Diego’s eyes quickly snapped to the area the voice had come from. “You were the best of us! Surely you must miss the old Russia!” He watched as a man climbed onto a table in the center of the room. He threw the hand holding his glass into the air and almost stumbled off the table and fell back to the ground. 

Suddenly the crowd shoved another figure toward the table, and the man leaned down to pull the other person up. Diego recognized her as soon as she turned around to face the group. Sure, it had been years since he’d seen her, but he would recognize Eudora’s smile anywhere. Although, right then, that smile seemed to be a little tight and forced. 

“Don’t lie to us, Eudora!” the man on the table yelled again. 

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped at him before turning back to the crowd. “Things are a lot more complicated than any of us know,” she said. “Just be glad you got out of there alive. Not everyone did.” The room fell silent for a few seconds and she took her chance to jump off the table. It wasn’t until then that Diego realized she wasn’t wearing a skirt, but a pair of loose fitting pants. He laughed lightly at the thought. Since he’d gotten to Paris, he’d heard of women wearing pants, and he wasn’t the least bit surprised that Eudora was taking advantage of the trend. 

Diego followed her when he noticed she was making her way toward the door. He gout out the door a few seconds after she did, and he had to look down down the street in both directions to figure out which way she went. He took a few quick steps to catch up with her once he figured it out. 

“Excuse me,” he called as he caught up. “I’m a little out of date, what do I call you if not Eudora?” 

“It’s  _ Patch _ ,” she said, sounding exasperated as she turned around to face him. She opened her mouth to say something else, but her jaw went slack and her eyes widened. “Diego?” 

“Bet you thought you’d never see this face again,” Diego laughed. 

“Never thought I’d see you wearing that color,” Patch joked, eyeing his pale orange button up. 

“Yeah, neither did I,” he laughed and looked down at his shirt and smoothed non-existent wrinkles. He had to put effort into looking back up at her, nervous all of a sudden. It wasn’t everyday you talked to your childhood friend and crush about the man you thought was a missing monarch her other friend was searching for. “Admit it, you’re happy to see me.” 

“I’m glad you’re not dead. That’s as far as I’m prepared to go,” she said. But said with a smile. 

“Oh, whatever,” he said and she started laughing. He couldn’t help but laugh with her. 

“I do have to admit, I am surprised I’m not.” 

“Yeah, me too,” Patch agreed. “I knew you as a kid, remember?” She hadn’t stopped laughing yet, and Diego didn’t want her too. 

“Oh, forget that ‘as a kid’ thing,” he said and shook his head. “I’m talking about the last week.” 

“Really?” Patch’s face fell a little.  _ Fuck _ , Diego thought. Not what he wanted. “What happened?” 

“Yeah, I umm… kinda had to jump off a moving train and hike, bike, and take a boat to get here,” he muttered. 

“And why did you have to jump off a moving train?” she asked shortly. 

“I may or may not have seen some Russian officers with wanted posters with my face on them,” he mumbled, looking down at his shiny new shoes, and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. 

She threw her hands up and looked up at the sky. “Oh my god, you’re been back for two minutes and I’m already worried for your life,” she groaned. “This is worse than when you broke that vase in the palace.” 

“Hey,” Diego defended and pointed a finger at her. “I would bet anything that no one  _ ever _ noticed that happened.” 

“That’s not the point,” Patch said. “Why were you even wanted?” 

“Okay, so…” Diego started, closing off considerably compared to just a few seconds before. “Some friends and I… who are wanted too, by the way-” 

“That doesn’t help, but continue,” Patch interrupted. 

“We found Klaus, Patch,” he spit out, not sure how else to say it. Patch closed her eyes and sighed. “What?” Diego demanded. “What did I do now?” 

“Nothing, it’s just…” she said softly. “Ben isn’t seeing anymore Klauses.” 

“What?” Diego asked, eyebrows furrowed. “Why not?” Patch opened her mouth to say something, but just as she did Diego thought of something. He refused to let that fear to be the end of their journey, and he continued. “If he thinks he found him he needs to at least talk to my friend first.”

“No, no,” Patch said and shook his head. “It’s not that. He hasn’t found him.” 

“Then why won’t he see anyone else?” Diego asked, with honestly no clue what was going on. 

“He just doesn’t want to see anyone else,” Patch explained. “Seeing these fakes- there imposters- day after day… it’s  _ exhausting _ , Diego. For me! I can’t even imagine how heartbreaking it is for Ben.” She shook her head and looked down at the ground. Diego didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. 

“Okay,” was all he said with a nod and turned to leave.

“I’ll see what I can do, Diego.” 

He spun around to face her. “What?” 

She tilted her head and looked up at the sky like she couldn’t believe what she was saying, but repeated herself anyway. “I’ll see what I can do.” She took a step toward Diego and continued. “I can’t make any promises, but he  _ did _ just change his mind, so maybe he’ll see him.” 

“You think so?” Diego asked, still unsure. 

“You did just come all the way from Russia as wanted men,” Patch said. “I think I can find a way. Let me talk to him.” 

“Do you really think so?” Diego asked, hopefulness creeping into his voice. 

“I don’t know,” Patch sighed honestly. He deflated a little. “But I can try.” 

Diego pursed his lips and nodded. “Okay, yeah.” They stood there for a moment, neither of them sure what to do. Finally, Patch turned and gestured for him to follow. 

“Come on, there’s a nice café around the corner,” she said and Diego followed hesitantly. Neither of them said anything as they walked, and they quickly got to the café. Patch waved at a waiter as she slid into a seat at an outdoor table. They sat silently until the waiter arrived at their table a moment later, and Patch quickly rattled off an order in French. The waiter nodded and walked away. Diego eyed Patch warily. 

“Do I get to order something?”

“I ordered for you.” Diego raised an eyebrow and she teased, “You’re just gonna have to trust me.” 

“Mmm, I don’t like that,” Diego hummed. 

“You really haven’t changed at all, have you?” Patch said with a fond smile. 

“Not enough to trust something like that.” Patch just laughed at him. The waiter returned with two drinks, setting one in front of each of them. Patch smiled up at him and he smiled back and hurried away. There was a cup of coffee sitting in front of Patch, and water in a clear glass in front of Diego. 

“Water?” he asked incredulously. “You get me water?” 

Patch shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. “So how were things after… everything?” 

He sighed and looked down at the glass in his hands. “Things were… a lot,” he said. Not sure how else to say anything about it. “But I adjusted. Everyone did.” 

“I can’t imagine,” she said and shook her head. 

“Neither can any of the people in that club earlier,” Diego said with a smirk. “But you didn’t seem to have any problem tellin’ ‘em so.” 

“Yeah, it’s just… staying with Ben, thinking about his family and Klaus… I know I don’t really have anything to bitch about,” she sighed. “Most of my closest friends got out, my family got out. You were really the only person- other than Klaus, at least- that I didn’t know what happened to them.” 

“And now you know,” Diego laughed awkwardly, not sure what else to say to that. 

“And now I know,” she said with a small smile. “And I’m glad.” Diego looked back up at her and she nodded her head a few times. “I am really,  _ really _ glad you’re okay, Diego.” 

They looked at each other across the table. Neither of them said anything, and something about the unbroken eye contact made Diego feel… weird, anxious. He cleared his throat and looked away.

“So can I ask about the name change?” he asked her, trying to get the conversation rolling again. She rolled her eyes and looked down at the drink in her hands. 

“People were forgetting who I am,” she said and looked back up at him with a smirk. “Especially people coming to see Ben, old Russians who were a bit too much to personally know my family and think I’m the maid when they stop by.” 

“Ooh,” Diego said and his nose wrinkled. “I’d kill to see what you did to them.” 

“Oh yeah, I’d walk into a room and Ben would ask ‘hey Eudora, what do you think of  _ whatever _ ’ and these old assholes would ask me to shine their shoes or something. ‘Eudora, sweetie, could you get me a drink?’” 

Diego took a sip of his drink with raised eyebrows. “How many people did you kill?” 

She kicked his leg underneath the table with a scoff. “No one, asshole.” He laughed with her for a second before she continued. “There was one guy, though, that was being an ass after I yelled at him the first time. I stood on the table and yelled at him again.” Diego snorted and coughed on his drink. He coughed and coughed until his face was red. Patch was laughing at him the whole time. 

“Oh, I bet that went over well,” Diego joked when he could finally catch his breath. Patch shrugged. 

“Ben didn’t have a problem with it,” she said, finishing her drink and leaning back in her seat. “Even told me good job afterward.” 

“So you switched to Patch?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said with another shrug. “The name is recognizable enough that most people don’t protest when Ben brings me into conversations.” 

“And a lot of these old Russains come by to see him?” Diego asked, surprised by how Russians in Paris lived their lives.

“Ehh, it’s mostly just the ones that either have business with him or want to talk outside of the club or the ballet,” she said. A moment later her eyes lit up and she sat up so straight she almost flew out of her chair. “I know what to do.” 

“What to do about what?” Diego asked, thrown off by the sudden change of topic. 

“Getting Ben to meet your Klaus,” she said. “The ballet is in town, I have some connections I should be able to get you guys some tickets enough though it’s so last minute.” 

“When is it?” Diego asked. 

“A few days,” she said quickly, fingers tapping on the table. It was a habit she’s had even when they were kids, tapping her fingers when her mind was racing. She was planning, and Diego knew better than to try to interrupt her. “Okay. I can get you some tickets, how many people do you have with you?”

“Oh, there’s three of us,” Diego said. 

“Including you?” 

“Yes.” 

“Okay, that might be kinda tricky, but I think I can pull the right strings,” she said and bit her bottom lip. “He can come up and talk to Ben after the show.” 

“Okay, I don’t want to throw a wrench in the plan you have going here, but none of us have clothes to wear to  _ the fucking ballet _ , Patch,” Diego said. He gestured to his shirt and pants. They were nice compared to what they arrived in, but standing in the club and sitting with Patch it was very clear they were not exactly high end clothes that everyone around them would be wearing. “ _ These _ were my ‘just got in from Russia’ upgrades.” 

“Don’t worry about that, I can get you guys clothes,” Patch dismissed with a wave of her hand. Diego blinked a few times and looked around, startled. “It’s not a problem,” she continued and she looked at something across the street. “Here, we’ll go shopping the day before. That’ll give me time to get tickets and everything and I’ll talk to your friend to make sure I’m not taking another blatant fake to Ben- no offense.” 

“No, no I get it, you have to do your job in this whole thing,” Diego said dully, head spinning. 

“And I’ll get to make sure you’re not buying terrible clothes,” she added, eyes still glazed over and staring over Diego’s shoulder. 

“Hey!” he protested, but he knew she was right. She seemed to come back to herself with his outburst. She scrambled for a napkin on the table. 

“Do you have a pen?” she asked. 

“Uhhh, yeah,” Diego said and patted his pockets. He found one in his shirt pocket and handed it over. 

“No, that’s for you,” she said and shoved it and the napkin over to him. “Here write where you’re staying. I’ll come find you at some point to finish up getting the plan together when I know I can get you three in.” 

“Okay,” he said and began scribbling the hotel’s address and their room number on the thin napkin. He put the pen back in his pocket and handed her the napkin. 

“Perfect,” she said and looked at it. “I’ll go talk to you when I get tickets and we can plan when to get shopping.” 

“Okay,” Diego said again dumbly. 

“I gotta get to work on this, it is quite a bit,” she said and tucked the napkin in a hidden pocket in her pants. She stood up, pushing the chair out behind her. She turned to the doors of the café and gestured for their waiter’s attention. He looked up and she rattled something off in French, and he nodded and said something back and she turned to Diego. 

“I’ll cover the check later, I’m gonna go,” she said. She walked off, and when she was a few steps down the street she turned around and called to Diego, “I’ll see you in a few days!” 

He nodded from where he was still sitting and watched her turn a corner and walk out of sight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let's see how long the next chapter takes. someone came to work with covid and i was also working that day so i got taken off the schedule for the rest of the week and probably cant go back until my test results come back so i dont think it'll take too terribly long unless i get REALLY distracted.   
> anyway come talk to me about tua or the fic on tumblr @lastyoungrene-gay-de


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!! so this chapter is kind of short, but i just really wanted this scene to be a chapter of its own and the next chapter is supposed to be super long because of the scene that was originally supposed to be in this chapter but I pushed it back as well as a new scene i came up with while writing chapter 4. enjoy!!

There were faces surrounding him, people in fine, stiff, uncomfortable looking clothes stood around him. They chanted his name in a haunting harmony. 

“Four! Four! Four!” 

“Please, no,” he whimpered and pressed his hands to his ears. “No, not now.” 

The people, whose faces weren’t visible over the glint off the glittering jewels sewn on their clothes, began walking around him. They all watched him as he sank to the floor inside the creepy, trapping circle they’d created. 

“Tell me a secret, Four,” a boy said, taking a step out of the circle toward Four. He looked up at him and was surprised he could actually see his face. He was young, a teenager, but there was something familiar about his face. The same kind of familiar as the theater where he’d met Dave and Diego or the song that played when he opened the music box. Four looked carefully at his dark hair and Asian features, but he couldn’t figure it out. 

“I don’t know who I am,” Four cried when the boy stepped back into the circle and he lost sight of his face again. The group began chanting his name again. “I don’t know who I am!” he repeated, just wanting them to stop. 

“Four!” he heard again, but this one was different. It was more muddled, less  _ there _ . Four tried to focus on that voice, not the ones closer to him. “Four!” It came again, then something sent a jolt of energy through his body and he opened his eyes and sat up and-

*****

Dave rolled over in bed- the actual  _ bed _ \- groggily. He’d just been asleep, having a weird dream about… Four? Trying to find Four, but everytime he caught a glimpse of him in a crowd of people he vanished again. He was about to drift back to sleep when he heard it, the thing that must have pulled him out of sleep in the first place. Whimpering. 

As soon as he realized what he was hearing he sat straight up in bed and his eyes flew open. He looked around the room trying to locate the source of the noise, but couldn’t make anything out in the darkness. He sat up and reached for the light on the table next to the bed, something Dave wasn’t quite used to but planned on taking full advantage of. However, he forgot all about the lights when he realized where the whimpering was coming from. 

On the other bed across the room, tossing and turning and screaming and crying, was Four. Dave threw the blanket off his legs and ran across the room before he knew what he was doing. 

“Four!” he yelled when he reached the other bed. Four whimpered some more and turned his head again. 

“I don’t know who I am,” Four muttered, hair sticking to his forehead from sweat. 

“Four!” Dave yelled again. When Four didn’t respond to him a second time, Dave sat on the edge of the bed and gently shook his shoulder. He distantly noted how cold and clammy the other man’s skin was, but didn’t worry about it in the moment. “Four!” 

As soon as Dave touched him, Four’s eyes snapped open and he sat up so violently he slammed into Dave’s chest, knocking him backward so he was half laying on the bed. Four whipped his head around, looking for something in the room with crazed eyes and heavy breathing. 

“Four,” Dave said gently now that he was actually awake. Four looked down at him, but it took a few seconds for him to really recognize him. 

“Dave?” he panted when he finally did. 

“Sorry,” he said as he sat up. He remembered Four’s reaction to being touched in his sleep and clarified, “You were screaming, I just wanted to wake you up.” 

“Sorry,” Four repeated and folded in on himself, scooting against the wall and pulling his legs to his chest. He wrapped his arms around his legs and added, “Didn’t mean to bother you.” 

“It’s okay,” Dave said genuinely. He didn’t like the way Four’s eyes were trained on his kneecaps. He also would have sworn he saw tears pooling in his eyes. “Do you wanna talk about it?” 

Four didn’t answer for a moment. He just sat eerily still looking at his legs. After a moment of thought, he looked up at Dave with steady eyes and spoke in a tone much too sure and regal for a man just startled out of a nightmare. “Who do you think I am, Dave?” 

It was Dave’s turn to look down at himself in thought. Who  _ did _ he think Four was? Could he really be Klaus? Could this scrappy little nobody, this man he met tattered and lost and alone, be the missing prince with a friend looking for him tirelessly? Could Four have a future with people who cared about him waiting not too far away? Could he get what he’s been wanting all these years, what he came here looking for in the first place?

“If I were Ben,” Dave started shakily. “I would want Klaus to be someone strong and determined with… a fucking personality.” He added the last bit with a smirk. The reference to the beginning of their royalty lessons made Four crack a small smile.  _ Good _ , Dave thought. “I would want you to be Klaus,” he added quietly because honestly, he wanted Four to be Klaus  _ so fucking badly _ . 

“Do you really think I’m… I have a fucking personality?” Four asked carefully. Before he could stop himself, Dave broke into a full, loud laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the question. Four’s smile grew a little more as he watched him. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with as much personality, Four,” he said. The smile turned bittersweet. 

“Do you really think I’m him?” 

Dave’s own smile faltered and he sighed. “I want you to be him,” he said, voicing his thoughts from a moment before. “I want you to be the boy from years ago,” he added quietly. He looked back up at Four, who tilted his head with a curious expression.

“What do you mean?”

Dave bit his lip. “When I was about ten I… met the prince, in a way.” Four raised his eyebrows. “Well, it wasn’t like a  _ meeting _ meeting. Nothing grand or official, but still. It was a big deal to me.” 

“Well, what was it?” Four asked softly. “If not a  _ meeting _ meeting?” 

“There was this parade,” Dave started. “There was some kind of celebration, so the whole royal family was riding around the city. They were all piled into these… honestly  _ ridiculous _ carriages. Even in the middle of June, everyone in the city was crowded on the streets to get even the  _ smallest _ glimpse of them.” 

“Really?” Four asked, eyes wide, probably trying to picture the dead streets of Leningrad full of bright lively people (and probably failing). “That sounds amazing.” 

“Well, it was June, so all those people packed in the streets like that…” he trailed off with a laugh. “It was hot as all shit.” 

Four laughed and finally began unfolding from in on himself. “Oh, I’m sure.” 

“Yeah.” Dave shook his head. “Anyway, it was packed and I refused to leave without seeing them,” he continued, smiling at Four as he did. “So I weaved through the crowd and got to the front.” 

“Go Davey!” Four cheered lightly. Dave’s face flushed at the nickname, but he ignored the heat in his cheeks and continued.

“And I saw him,” Dave said simply. 

“Klaus?” Four asked. Dave nodded. 

“He was sitting in the carriage that drove past just as I got to the front of the crowd.” Four leaned forward again as Dave spoke, obviously caught up in the story. “And I just couldn’t stop myself. I started chasing after the carriage as it kept going down the street,” he whined and put his face in his hands as he remembered his childhood decision. Four chuckled and gave Dave time to recover before continuing. “And I started calling out to him and kept chasing them. Before that I had been thinking there was no way I wasn’t leaving without seeing them. Well, that idea got thrown out the fucking window. I had bigger ideas, now. One of those fuckers was gonna acknowledge me.” 

Dave had changed his tone about half way through the story once he realized how stupid it sounded. Four laughed at the over the top seriousness of his voice. Dave laughed a bit at it himself before he finished. 

“So my dumb ass is running down the street screaming for Klaus like some kind of idiot, and he looked at me and smiled.” Four laughed again. “And, ya know… I was ten. I still bought into the whole royalty thing, so it was kind of a big deal to me at the time. It may be kind of stupid, but even then I had this feeling I’d find Klaus again. I wanted to believe screaming at him in a crowd of thousands wouldn’t be my only interaction with him.” 

“That’s cool,” Four said and tilted his head again. His smile dropped and his eyes glazed over and he stared over Dave’s shoulder. He knew Four well enough by now that he knew he was thinking about something he couldn’t quite remember. 

“Four?” he prompted after he’d been quiet a moment too long. Four’s eyes refocused and snapped back to Dave. 

“It feels familiar,” he eventually said. 

“What do you mean?” Dave questioned. 

“When you were telling the story, I felt like I was there too,” Four explained. “Familiar.” 

“Well, maybe you  _ were _ there,” Dave said and leaned back, putting a hand on the bed and shifting his weight onto that arm. “What feels so familiar about it?” Four looked at him warily. “Come on, make it part of  _ your _ story, Four,” he added with an encouraging smile. 

“It was a parade on a hot day,” Four started slowly. “I was bored, didn’t think any of this was necessary, didn’t make sense. But I had to go, I didn’t have a choice.” 

“Oh yeah,” Dave prompted. “Why not?” 

The far away look came back to Four’s eyes as he answered. “I don’t remember,” he said. “Someone was making me go, so I had to. We were riding through the streets, I was wishing it was all over, and a boy suddenly ran into the street.” 

Four paused, and his eyes lit up in a way Dave had never seen before. He was still looking over his shoulder, but his eyes weren’t distressed or out of focus like they usually were. This time, whatever he was looking for in the distance, he could actually see it. 

“He pushed his way into the street and looked right at me,” he said quickly. “Before anyone could pull him back into the crowd he started running after us. And he said my name, and I knew I shouldn’t react, I’d get in trouble for some reason, but I couldn’t stop myself. So I smiled.” He suddenly looked Dave directly in the eyes, his own flooded with realization and shock. “And then he bowed.” 

A burst of adrenaline shot through Dave when he heard those words, making him feel cold for a second. Once the chill passed Dave couldn’t hear anything but his own heart beating in his ears. 

“What?” he asked weakly. 

“He bowed,” Four repeated softly. 

“I didn’t tell you that,” Dave said and stood up, running his fingers through his hair as he moved. 

“You didn’t have to,” Four said from his place on the bed. “I remember.” 

Dave turned around to look at him again. Four was already looking at him, eyes wide but sure. And he knew, looking at Four right then, that he was Klaus. How else could he have known that? The one time in his life Dave ever bowed to anyone, and he never told anyone about it. Not even Diego. It had to be him. He knew it had to be Klaus. When he looked at Four, he could see  _ he _ knew as well. 

“Dave,” he said, so softly Dave barely heard it, and stood and took a few careful steps toward him. Without thinking, Dave reached up and gently put his hands on Four’s- Klaus’- shoulders. He ran them over his arms lightly and pulled him closer. Four came easily. 

“Oh my god,” Dave whispered. 

“I blinked and you were gone,” Four said just as quietly. 

“Some guards managed to get me out of the street,” Dave laughed.

“But I knew, even then, I’d find you again. I really did,” Four said, looking up at Dave with bright eyes. 

Dave just repeated, “Oh my god.” Four chuckled and leaned closer to Dave, just the slightest bit, but he still noticed. He moved his hands up to the nape of Four’s neck. Four took another step closer and Dave was hit by how much he wanted to kiss him. He even leaned in to, but stopped when he realized how much he  _ couldn’t _ . 

He quickly took a few steps back, pulling his hands off Four’s skin as he did. Four looked up at him once he was gone, confused. 

“Well,” Dave said, hands curling into fists at his sides. “I guess we don’t have to worry about proving you’re actually Klaus anymore.” 

Four pursed his lips and looked at the ground. “Yeah, I guess not.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eyyy come talk to me about the fic or tua in general on tumblr @lastyoungrene-gay-de
> 
> also, if anyone's interested and because i love this musical so much, here is a link to the scene from the broadway show this chapter is based on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bseJt7MMrE


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiii!! some parts of this chapter might be a little different from both the musical and the movie, but i think it fits well enough and i wanted certain things to be clear in the scenes, so i figured it would work. and i think it does.   
> enjoy!!

The last few days had gone by quickly for Patch. She’d managed to do what she'd promised Diego and gotten him and his friends tickets to the ballet, but it had been harder than she’d expected. When she stopped by his hotel to let him know, she’d ended up running into him and they made their plans to go shopping for the ballet.

So that’s why she was standing in the hotel lobby with Diego waiting as his friends got ready to go out. Diego stood there awkwardly, obviously unsure what to do until his friends joined them. Yet another thing about him that was still the same after all these years. 

“So, do you have any ideas for places you want to go shop?” she asked, just to give him something to focus on other than tapping his fingers at his sides. He didn’t respond, just turned to her and raised his eyebrows in an incredulous expression. “Didn’t think so,” she said shortly. “Guess I’m in charge today.” 

Diego scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You haven’t met Four yet.” 

Patch opened her mouth to question  _ Four _ , but stopped when somebody walked out the doorway from the smaller of the hotel’s stairwells. Well, it was two somebodies, but she was only focused on one of them. 

It had always been difficult for Patch to picture what things would be like if Klaus was in Paris with her and Ben. Sure, Klaus was always there in her mind, sitting next to Ben at the ballet or joking around with them over dinner, but he never really had a face. In her mind, Klaus was always still a kid, or, whenever she caught herself picturing the child, he was just a figure. A vague blob that she just knew was Klaus even though he didn’t have enough features to have an actual face. 

But now he did. The face that had just walked into the lobby was Klaus’ as an adult. It had the same green eyes, lopsided smile, and unruly dark curls. Now, he had the sharp cheekbones and strong jawline she wasn’t able to picture before. His eyes shined as he looked at the other man who’d walked in with him, who was looking at him and talking. 

“Ugh, finally,” Diego sighed next to Patch, reminding her that there was something happening other than her inner freeze moment. “Guys!” he called out and waved his hand over his head. The two men she had just been watching turned to them. Patch had to make a conscious effort to close her mouth so she wouldn’t still look like an idiot in shock when they reached her. 

“Hi,” the second man said with a bright smile when they got to them. 

“Hello,” Patch said faintly, still looking at the one who looked like Klaus. He was looking back at her curiously. 

“Patch, this is Dave-” the man who’d spoken waved, “-and Four.” Klaus smiled thinly, eyes still searching her face. “Guys, this is Eudora Patch. Call her Eudora, and she just may kill you.” He ended the introduction curtly with an almost sarcastic smile. 

“Understood,” Dave said and held out a hand for her to shake. She looked at it blankly for a moment before she took it with a smile and shook it firmly. It was nice not having to interrupt someone else to get a proper introduction or being treated as an equal in a conversation, even though she was technically much higher socially than the only one easily showing her such respect. In this world, she had to take what she could get. Dave returned her smile and they both looked down at Kl-  _ Four _ . His name was Four. 

“Hi,” Four said with a small wave. She smiled at him, unable to separate him from Klaus in her mind despite only just having met him. She tore her eyes away from him and turned to Diego. 

“So, we’re all going to the ballet tomorrow, so we’ve got to get you all some appropriate clothes,” she explained. 

“But we don’t have any money,” Four protested. 

“Don’t worry about that,” Patch dismissed with a wave of her hand. “We’re very crunched for time, so we need to get started. 

“Alright.” 

Patch took the group to a shop a few blocks from the hotel. As soon as they walked into the shop some of the workers pulled Dave into a back room. Diego didn’t stick around Patch and Four much longer either. 

Patch watched Four as his eyes wandered around the shop. This shop carried both men’s and women’s fashion, and Patch couldn’t miss the way Four’s eyes kept drifting to the side of the shop that displayed swishy skirts and ruffled bodices. 

“So, Four,” Patch started, making his eyes snap back to her. “Tell me about yourself.” 

“Oh, um,” Four mumbled and looked down at his hands. “Like what?” 

“Who are you?” she asked softly. He quickly looked up at her with wide eyes. She didn’t know how to read his expression, but she couldn’t get over how much it reminded her of Klaus talking to her and Ben about his father. 

“I… I don’t know,” he said softly, still looking right at her. “But I… I was going to tell you something.” 

Patch furrowed her eyebrows. “Like Diego told you to say something to me?” 

“No, no,” he shook his head and looked back off over her shoulder. “They didn’t say anything… but there was something else, from somewhere else, that I was going to say to you.” 

“Four?” Dave’s voice suddenly interrupted. They both turned to look at him and saw him standing a few feet away in nice new pants and a buttoned up, white shirt and a shop employee standing behind him trying to pull him off to the side to look at a jacket. “You okay?” Four nodded but didn’t say anything. Patch could see his eyes look Dave up and down before another employee walked to his side and pulled him out of his chair. He looked at him and followed, looking back at Dave one last time before disappearing to the fitting rooms. Dave watched him go and Patch had to fight the urge to roll her eyes.  _ Great _ . 

“So, um,” Patch said. Dave turned to her as the employee held his arms out at his sides. “So what exactly is his… thing?” she asked, not sure exactly how else to put it. Dave gave her a small smile. 

“He’s just looking for his place to belong,” he said vaguely with a distracted smile. 

“And you really think he’s Klaus?” she asked. She wanted to believe it, and a few days ago she would have taken him to Ben from his looks alone, but now she had to have more than that to risk upsetting Ben by not listening. To do that, she needed to get him to talk, but there was something about him that made her think that just coming out and asking him questions wouldn’t be the best approach. 

Dave turned and looked at her seriously. He made sure she was paying attention to him before he spoke. “Yes. Yes, I do.” She tilted her head as she looked at him, trying to take him in. Understand him. She didn’t. 

He still met her gaze as the person working with him slid a jacket onto his arms. Soon enough, they figured it was good enough and he went back to the fitting rooms to change back into his casual clothes, muttering something about not understanding the point in the fancy clothes. He passed Diego as he left, who was standing uncomfortably stiff in his tuxedo jacket. Patch couldn’t help but laugh at him. He glared at her in response. 

“What is so funny?” he asked. Her giggling turned into full laughter as she looked at him, shoulders shaking. 

“Sorry,” she forced through her laughter. “You just look so weird.” He narrowed his eyes. “No, like… you have no idea what you should be doing right now.” 

“Well, I’m not exactly used to this,” he snapped and finally moved his arms from where they had been hanging by his sides. “Until like four days ago I lived on the streets and dressed in rags, okay?” He looked away as the employee helping him grabbed his arms. “This all feels too… good, I guess.” 

“Diego,” she sighed and walked over so she was standing right next to him. “This stuff is not too good for you,” she said, seeing right through his self hating comments. He looked back at her, eyes wide and vulnerable. Patch ignored the worker’s glance between the two of them she saw out of the corner of her eye. “Now,” she said firmly and took a step back. “Let’s try the jacket on.” 

A moment later, the jacket was slipped onto his arms and he turned for Patch to get a better look. She stepped back up to him, eyes trained on the jacket. She pulled and adjusted the lapels, doing her best to ignore how close she was standing to Diego. Before she could stop herself, she ran her hands down his chest to smooth the material. She both heard and felt the hitch in his breath. She looked up at him, so close she had to look up through her eyelashes, and found him already looking down at her. 

They stood there like that for a moment before the tension filled silence was broken. 

“You two are cute,” the person working on Diego’s tux said. 

“Oh, um,” Patch said and took a step back, looking at her feet awkwardly. Luckily, Dave came back into the room followed by Four. 

Dave had changed back into his own clothes and Four was wearing the same thing Dave and Diego had walked into the room wearing. An employee also followed behind him and guided him to the jackets near Diego. Patch didn’t bother paying attention to his outfit, it was the same as the other two. 

What she  _ did _ pay attention to was the way his eyes once again drifted to the women’s section of the shop. Before she might have considered it curiosity, but after seeing him being dressed in the typical men’s fashion she knew better. He would have much rather been in a skirt or dress in those moments. 

The thought made her smile. It reminded her of a conversation she’d had with Ben and Klaus when she was young. Klaus had been asking her about the skirts she wore, what it felt like to have room and air around her legs all the time. Ben had been curious too, but not nearly as much as Klaus. Soon he was asking her where she got them, and not long after that she began sneaking dresses and skirts into the palace for him to try on when she visited him. He was always so excited about them, and last she knew he had been trying to be allowed to wear one in public. 

They soon finished in the shop and left, Patch walking down the street with Diego and Dave with Four. Unsure what else to do, they went back to the group’s hotel. Once they got back to their room, Patch decided it might be her only chance to talk to Four before the ballet. 

“Hey, I was wondering if I could talk to Four for a few minutes,” she said when they’d all gotten all their new purchases arranged. The group looked at each other for a few seconds before Diego responded. 

“Yeah, sure,” he said. “Me and Dave’ll step out if you want.” 

“If you would, yeah,” she said. Diego nodded and began walking back toward the door, but Dave took a few steps to Four. 

“You okay with this?” he asked him quietly. Four nodded, looking down at Dave’s chest. Dave looked up at Patch and back down at Four before he nodded and went to leave the room as well. Once the two were gone, Patch sat in a chair by the desk and gestured for Four to sit as well. He collapsed onto the bed and looked at her expectantly. 

“I’m sorry,” she started. “I’m just trying to get to know you a little better before I take you to see Ben.” 

“I understand,” Four nodded. “Diego said something about Ben not being willing to see anybody else.” 

Patch nodded sadly. “Which is why I need to be extra careful about how I introduce you,” she explained. “He told me to stop bringing anyone to him, but I just…” she trailed off and shook her head. “There’s something about you, Four.” 

“Honestly, I don’t really know what could make you think that,” Four said. “I don’t really know who I am. I don’t remember anything before about… eh, ten years ago.” 

“What?” Patch questioned, eyebrows furrowed. 

“I just kind of… woke up one day,” he explained. “I had no memories, no idea who I was. I just had to start working, doing what I had to.”  _ He fell from the train _ , Patch remembered.  _ Maybe he hit his head.  _

“Were there any clues? Anything that would tell us who you are?” Patch asked, a picture beginning to form in her head. 

“I ended up at a hospital in an orphanage,” Four said, looking down at his twitching fingers in thought for a moment. “One of the nurses there found a diamond sewn into my clothes.” Patch’s eyes went wide and her body went incredibly still. 

“A diamond?” she asked warily.  _ A fucking diamond _ ? Four nodded. 

“It was weird. It was winter, I woke up in a pile of snow,” he explained. “But I didn’t have a jacket on. The nurses weren’t sure how I didn’t freeze to death.” He chuckled awkwardly and shook his head as if what he’d just said hadn’t changed history. 

Klaus fell from the train. Ben had made him take his jacket off right before. Klaus had explained to her once that the royal family had jewels hidden in their clothes; whether it was because they expected needing money in an emergency or simply because they could, but right now it didn’t matter to her. 

Because hitting his head as he fell could have caused amnesia, which would explain why he hadn’t come to Ben until now. 

Patch stood from her chair. Her movement was so sudden Four visibly flinched at it. She looked down at him and floundered, trying to think of something-  _ anything _ \- to say. 

“I’ll see you at the ballet,” she settled on. It probably wasn’t enough to make sense of anything she had just said or done, but the only thing she could focus on was the rushing of blood in her ears. 

She stepped out the door, surprising Dave and Diego who were leaning against the wall on either side of the doorway. She looked back and forth between them. She must have looked rattled, because both their expressions turned to ones of concern. She closed the door behind her and leaned back against it. 

“Patch, are you okay?” Diego asked and set a hand on her shoulder. 

“Do you need anything?” Dave added. 

“I should probably get going,” she said weakly. “I have plans for the evening.” 

“Okay,” Diego said and stepped out of her way. 

“I definitely need to take him to Ben. I’ll see you all tomorrow,” she said as she pushed herself off the door. 

“Yeah,” Dave said, obviously confused. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” 

*****

Dave wasn’t sure what to expect from the ballet. He’d spent so much time worrying about what would happen after that he didn’t bother thinking about the show itself. Sitting next to Four and Diego, all uncomfortable in their new tuxedos, trying to get through the entirety of Swan Lake without screaming in frustration. 

Finally, the performance ended and Dave, Diego, and Four made their way to the private box Ben was sitting in. Patch had told them where to go, and Dave’s stomach was flipping the entire way there. Patch met them at the entrance to the box, waiting to take Four back to his old friend. 

“Are you ready?” Patch asked. Four nodded. When she nodded back ,he stood up straight and pushed his shoulders back. They entered the box, and Dave could hear Patch say, “Ben, there’s someone I need to introduce you to.” 

Diego and Dave stood silently for a few moments before Diego said, “I can’t do this. I need a drink.” Dave nodded as his friend walked away, wishing he could do the same. 

He didn’t know why he was so nervous. He  _ knew _ Four was Klaus. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind, and he was confident Diego and Patch thought so too. The way she reacted after her conversation with him the day before made Dave sure of that. And besides, they wouldn’t be here, waiting for Ben to talk to Four, if she didn’t. 

So why was he so fucking nervous? He began to pace as he let his mind spiral at the thought. 

There was no way this didn’t work out for them. They couldn’t fail. They would all get what they wanted. Four who know and be accepted for who he was. Ben would have his best friend back. Dave and Diego would be out of Russia and have the reward money from Ben for finding Klaus. 

But was that what Dave actually wanted?

Dave stopped short at the thought. 

If he didn’t want that, what he’d spent the last few months working for, then what  _ did _ he want? 

He wanted-  _ no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Fuck _ . 

He wanted Four. Wanted to be with Four. Didn’t want to walk away once Four was officially Klaus again. Did he l-

A door slammed shut. Dave spun around to face the entrance to Ben’s box, only to see an angry, upset Four. His hands were clenched at his sides and fire burned in his eyes. 

“How-” Dave started, but wasn’t able to finish. 

“He wouldn’t look at me,” Four spat. 

“Wh-” 

“How dare you?” 

“How dare I what?” Dave asked, genuinely confused. It only made Four wrinkle his face in disgust and take a confident step toward him. 

“You  _ used _ me,” he said. 

Dave shook his head. “No, wha-” 

Fout took a few large, confident strides toward him until he was standing right in front of him. “You used me to get some  _ fucking reward money _ ,” he hissed, looking directly into Dave’s eyes for him to see exactly how angry he was. All Dave could do for a moment was open and close his mouth, gaping at him. 

“Four, no, listen-” 

“Don’t bother,” he said and took a step back, shaking his head. As he continued walking, Dave saw tears beginning to pool in his eyes. “I don’t wanna hear it.” He turned away so Dave couldn’t see his face. As he walked away he called over his shoulder, “I don’t wanna hear anything from you.” And before Dave could think of anything to say he was gone. 

Dave stood there for a moment, staring at the now empty space Four had just been, mouth still hanging open.  _ What happened in there _ , he thought. Obviously, Ben hadn’t bothered to listen to Four say anything, but what had  _ he _ said to Four? 

His jaw clenched, closing his mouth as he did. How dare Ben not talk to Four? No one had any right to treat Four like that, like he was nothing. Even forgetting all they’d been though and risked to get here,  _ Four deserved better _ . He  _ deserved _ to know who he was. He  _ deserved _ a home. He  _ deserved _ to be surrounded by people who loved him. He  _ deserved _ to be with his fucking family. 

And unfortunately, those were the thoughts fresh in Dave’s mind when Ben left the private box. 

“Is he gone?” he heard Ben ask.

Without thinking, Dave turned around and began making his way to him. Before he could think it through enough to stop himself, he was yelling at one of the closest people to Russian royalty. 

“Excuse me, Sir,” he started, stepping dangerously close to Ben. “Please, Four doesn’t want your money, I take full responsibility for any part of our trip that had anything to do with looking for money.” 

Ben had stopped in his tracks and was now looking at Dave with surprisingly cold eyes. It threw Dave off, but only for a moment. He opened his mouth to continue defending Four, but Ben beat him to it. 

“Please don’t continue, I have no interest in wasting my time with this anymore,” he said cooly and tried to take a step around Dave. He didn’t let him. 

“He had nothing to do with this,” he said and pointed behind him in the direction Four had just left in. He could see Patch shaking her head at him over Ben’s shoulder, but he ignored her. “And I believe with all my heart and anything else I can swear to you on that he is Klaus.” 

Ben finally looked away from him. “I won’t listen to this,” he said and took another step, managing to get past Dave this time. 

“He only wants what’s rightfully his,” Dave said and spun to follow him. “Your recognition and a place to belong!” He hurried to catch up with him and put a firm hand on his shoulder. Ben stopped, and Dave could see his jaw clench from where he was standing behind him. “Imagine what it was like for him all these years,” he continued. “Stuck there, alone, after everyone who knew him was long gone. Dead or left or-” 

“I don’t need to be reminded of what happened,” Ben snapped. “I lost the closest thing I had to family that day.” 

“So did he!” Dave said. 

“Dave,  _ stop it _ ,” Patch hissed from behind him. He’d totally forgotten she was there, lost in the moment that had been just him and Ben. Ben’s eyes flicked over Dave’s shoulder as he looked at Patch. His expression shifted slightly, enough for Dave to notice but not for him to understand. He knew it was because he didn’t know Ben well enough. 

Ben looked at him again, but only for a second. Then he silently turned on his heels and began walking away. Dave contemplated following him, but Patch gently set a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He looked back at her and she gave him a small shake of her head. 

“But you  _ know _ ,” he protested. 

“I know,” she agreed. “But you have to stop.” He sighed, defeated, and nodded. She returned the gesture and walked away without anything more. Dave let his shoulders drop as he watched her leave. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway,,,, as usual come talk to me on tumblr @lastyoungrene-gay-de


	7. Chapter 7

Four anger fueled speed walked all the way back to the hotel, fuming the entire way there. How had he not seen it earlier? They had taught him  _ how to act like royalty _ . And he had just sat there and listened, didn’t think anything was off about it. God, he was so  _ stupid _ . 

He really thought they wanted to help him. That they were his friends. All the time they spent together joking and talking and running for their fucking lives, they had just been using him. 

_ “What, do you have friends who saw some resemblance and realized you could all get a little money?” Ben had asked _ . Four furled his hands into fists as he remembered. As much as he was proud of his self control, he regretted not slapping Dave in the face the second he saw him. 

God, Dave. 

Thinking about Dave made his stomach flip and his vision blur. Sure, it had been making his stomach flip for a while now, but this was different. Before it was because he… liked him ( _ or maybe more _ , he tried not to let himself think). Now it was rage. 

Maybe Four wouldn’t have been hurt if it wasn’t for Dave’s confession the other night after Four’s dream. He couldn’t think of any explanation for how he could have known that. Dave never told him, but he still knew. 

How did he know? Maybe it hadn’t really happened. Maybe Dave just said it did because Four said it and he wanted him to believe it. To believe that he was really Klaus. Maybe he thought Four needed a confidence boost to really sell the act.

Or maybe he just went with it because,  _ hey why not? _ People agreed with royalty even though what they were saying was completely horse shit all the time, right? Get on his good side so Four wouldn’t realize their plan was all fake. Or so when he did realize it he wouldn’t believe it. 

None of that explained why Dave almost kissed him after all that, though. 

He just pushed all that out of his head. None of it changed anything. He just needed to get out of there. 

As soon as he got back to the hotel he ran up the stairs to the room. He didn’t stop to ease the burning in his thighs and calves. He kept moving, kept running to the bed to grab anything he could and get the fuck out of there. To get the fuck away from Dave and Diego, even though they weren’t even in the room. 

He was just finishing pulling out the dresser drawers when he could hear someone messing with the room lock. A moment later it opened. 

“Four, hold on,” Dave’s voice said, but Four refused to look at him. 

“I don’t want to talk to you,” he snapped. “Either of you.”

“Four, wait-” 

“No!” Four roared and spun around to face them. “You two used me,” he accused. His entire body was visibly shaking with anger. “This whole fucking time you made me think that you were helping me. You made me think I had somewhere to belong. Someone looking for me. Someone to-” He cut himself off as his voice broke, stopping before he could finish the last sentence. He refused to finish that sentence. 

_ Someone to love. _

He shook his head, pushing away any remaining thoughts of Dave, and turned back around when his vision blurred and his eyes began to sting. He resumed shoving things in his bag. He exhaled slowly and tried to will his tears to stop. He paused when his fingers brushed against a book at the bottom of his pile of things. He picked it up and scoffed. 

“Russian history,” he said, reading the title. “Well, you assholes can save it for your next Klaus.” He took a few steps backwards then spun around the book into one of their hands, but stopped when he saw who was standing there. Because it wasn’t Dave and Diego. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” he stuttered quickly. Ben tilted his head, looking at him curiously. Four began to panic under his gaze. “Oh, god,” he said, tapping his fingers against the cover of the book. “Do y- do you want me to bow or something?” 

Ben tilted his head even more. “No, I don’t think I do.” They stood there for a moment just looking at each other. 

Looking at Ben’s face, Four got that goddamn familiar feeling again. It made him want to scream in frustration. He was so fucking tired of that fucking feeling. He wanted to go back to before all this bullshit started, before being crushed with all the familiar feelings but no answers. He almost did scream before he remembered who was in the room with him. 

“Why are you here?” he asked instead and pushed his shoulders back. 

“Your friend told me you didn’t have anything to do with their scheim,” Ben explained, standing up straighter. 

“I didn’t,” Four insisted and dropped the book onto the closest bed. 

Ben looked at him for another moment, then he looked down at his shoes, seemingly admitting something he didn’t want to. “And Patch is convinced,” he muttered. 

_ Oh _ .

Ben looked back up at him. He took a step closer, dark eyes narrowing as he did. 

“Umm…” Four said, not sure how to phrase his question of  _ what the fuck was he doing _ ?

“I’m looking for the resemblance,” Ben said shortly. After a few more seconds his gaze eased. “I’ll admit, I see it.” Four pursed his lips but didn’t say anything. “Who are you?” Ben asked firmly. Four swallowed before he answered. 

“I don’t know.” 

Ben searched his face again, obviously looking for a way to read his expression instead of studying his features. “Both your friends and mine believe you’re my best friend. Yours seem convinced you believe it yourself.” 

“I want to be him,” Four said honestly. “But I  _ can’t  _ be him unless you think I am.” 

“Bullshit,” Ben snapped, shocking Four with both his language and his tone. “I cannot think you’re Klaus until  _ you _ believe it.” Four looked away and collapsed onto the bed. Ben sat down across from him. “What was your father’s-” Ben started. 

“I don’t wanna talk about him,” Four cut him off. He wasn’t sure where the surety in the statement came from, but he knew it applied. Ben quirked an eyebrow. “Sorry,” Four muttered, looking away and letting his shoulders drop. 

“It’s alright,” Ben said, the curious expression on his face again. He leaned forward. “Tell me-”  _ A secret _ , Four’s brain filled in. He audibly gasped and his eyes widened when he realized why it did. ‘ _ Tell me a secret, Four _ ,’ the boy in his dream had said. The younger Ben in his dream had said. 

Ben startled and looked around the room to find what had caused Four’s reaction. “What?” he asked when he didn’t see anything. 

“Nothing, I just…” Four trailed off. “I just realized why you were so familiar.” 

“Oh?” Ben asked, eyebrows raised. 

“I just-” Four cut himself off with a groan. Even after doing it twice now, he still didn’t really know how to explain these familiar feelings. He really just needed a drink; he wanted to forget all about them. “So,” he started again. “All my life I’ve had these weird feelings, like something’s missing. Something I should know or recognize or whatever, but it’s just gone. So I thought it was that, but… I had a weird dream the other night. And you were in it.” 

“I was in your dream?” Ben asked incredulously. 

“Yes.” Four nodded. “But you were younger. But it was definitely you.” 

Ben looked away from him again. His eyes were trained on a spot on the floor for a moment before he shook his head. “Exactly what kind of things make you feel like that? This... special kind of familiar?” he asked, voice thin like he wasn’t sure how it was relevant. 

“Hold on,” Four requested. “I have something here.” Four stood from his place on the bed and ran to his bag. He quickly rifled though it until his fingers made contact with the music box. “Dave and Diego showed me this back in Russia.” He turned around for Ben to see what he was holding in his shaking hands, but he wasn’t looking. “They thought it was broken, but I got it to work as soon as I saw it.” He took a deep breath but still almost forgot to add, “I know the song it plays, but I have no idea why.” 

Ben finally looked up. His eyes wandered for a few seconds before finally landing on the music box. Recognition sparked in his eyes immediately and the color quickly drained from his face. After a moment of shock he looked back up at Four. 

“You know the song?” Ben asked weakly. Four nodded and ran his fingers over the bottom to find the latch to open it. As soon as he hit it the song began to play and he hummed along with it. Ben’s mouth fell open and Four saw tears begin to pool in his eyes. 

“Wha-” 

“Klaus’ music teacher wrote this song,” Ben said softly. “I went to his lessons with him sometimes. The only people who knew this song were the teacher, me, Klaus, and the man who made that music box.” 

Four’s own jaw dropped. They looked at each other for a moment before Ben began singing along with the music box. 

“ _ Dancing bear, painted wings _ .” A chill ran down Four’s spine and he started singing as well, shocked to realize he could. “ _ Things I almost remember. And a song, someone sings, once upon a December _ .” 

“Oh my god,” Ben cried and stood up. “ _ Klaus _ .” He threw his arms around Four’s shoulders, who returned the gesture and squeezed his eyes shut, still clutching the music box in his hand. 

“Oh my god,” he whispered. 

“Klaus, you’re  _ here _ ,” Ben sniffled. Four needed to wipe his eyes as well, but he left his arms around Ben. “Klaus, what happened?” Ben sobbed a few seconds later. 

“I don’t know,” Four cried and finally broke down. “I don’t know what happened,” he wailed as his entire body shook with sobs. Ben pulled away from him and looked at him with a watery smile. 

“Come on,” Ben said. “Let’s go. I wanna show you home.” 

“Okay,” Four said weakly and wiped his eyes. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down as he turned back to his bag. He hurried to shove things inside, and made sure to grab the music box before he buttoned it shut. 

Later that night, sitting on the bed in the extra room in Ben’s apartment, Four answered and questions Ben could think to ask. 

“What did you mean earlier when you said you didn’t know what happened to you?” he started with. Four- Klaus?- sighed. “You’ve told this story a lot haven’t you?” 

“Yeah,” Four laughed lightly and shook his head. 

“Sorry,” Ben said earnestly. “But if it helps you only have to tell it one more time.” Four smiled and nodded, not really too upset about talking to Ben about anything. 

“When I was younger I woke up one day and didn’t remember anything,” he started, looking down at his hands in his lap. “I was in an orphanage, they thought I hit my head somehow and got amnesia.” He saw Ben nod out of the corner of his eye and looked back up at him. 

“When we were running away from the palace I got on a train,” Ben explained, eyes glazing over. “You were with me, and I tried to pull you onto the train with me, but it was already moving too fast for you to keep up with. You fell and hit your head. I never saw you get back up.” 

“Oh,” Four said. He’d always wanted to know what caused his memory loss, but actually hearing about the event was odd. He didn’t know what to do with that information. 

“So, what happened next?” Ben asked softly, obviously trying to get the conversation back on track. 

“They kept me in the infirmary for a few days,” he continued. “And they started calling me ‘Four’ when they realized I wasn’t going to remember.” 

“Why Four?” Ben interrupted, eyebrows raised. 

“It was sewn into my clothes,” Four told him. 

“You were the youngest of four kids,” Ben explained with a nod. “Your dad didn’t really care about his kids. He had the numbers sewn into your clothes in birth order. It helped the maids and nannies know who he was talking about when he just called you by numbers.” 

“No wonder I didn’t wanna talk about him earlier,” Four scoffed. 

“Yeah,” Ben said. “We weren’t big fans of his.” 

“A nurse also found a diamond sewn into my clothes too. “What was the reason for that?” 

“Emergencies,” Ben said. “In case anything happened and you needed money if anything happened to you.” 

“Well... “ Four said with a shrug. “It got me, Dave, and Diego to Paris, so I’m glad he had that back up plan in place.” Ben opened his mouth to speak again but Four quickly shook his head and corrected himself. “Well, it got us on a train to Paris, but we had to jump off so it didn’t really get us  _ to _ Paris, but whatever.” 

“I’m sorry, you  _ jumped off a train _ ?” Ben asked incredulously, eyes bugging. 

“Don’t worry,” Four said and dismissed his concerns with a wave of his hand. “Jumped, not fell.” He chuckled a bit. Ben’s mouth fell open and he made a sound that sounded like a mix of a scoff and a surprised gasp. 

“Oh my god,  _ shut up _ , Klaus,” he said and shoved his shoulder lightly. Four’s face fell, and a moment later Ben’s did too. “Oh, sorry. I know you haven’t been Klaus for a long time, and… don’t remember being Klaus in the first place.” Four pursed his lips and looked away. “Do you want me to keep calling you Klaus? Or do you want me to say Four?” 

He looked at him again and thought about it. Who was Four anyway? A nobody living on the streets. A guy who spent years scamming to survive. Number Four, to his own father. Sure, technically  _ Klaus _ was Number Four but the name he’d had when he didn’t have a real one came from that. He didn’t want to be Four. 

“Klaus,” he said firmly. 

“Are you sure?” Ben questioned. 

“Yeah,” Fou-  _ Klaus _ \- said. “Four was trouble. Klaus was your friend. I know which one I’d rather be.” Ben smiled, a wide, shining smile that made his entire face light up. Klaus couldn’t help but smile too. “I want to be Klaus,” he said. “I want to remember the rest of it, I really do.” 

“Wellllllll,” Ben said with a cheesy grin. “Why don’t we start with what you  _ do _ remember?” Klaus smiled back. 

“ _ Together in Paris _ ,” Klaus said, falling against the headboard of the bed and hugging a pillow to his chest. “That’s why I needed to get here. From the moment I woke up it’s been running through my head.” 

Ben smiled again. “We were coming here. Every bad day we had we just had to remember that one day we would be…” Klaus caught on. 

“ _ Together in Paris _ ,” they said in unison. 

“Exactly,” Ben said and chuckled. He opened his mouth to continue, but he was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. A moment later, the door opened a crack and Patch stuck her head in the room. She smiled as soon as her eyes landed on Klaus. She didn’t say anything, though, just looked at Ben and raised an eyebrow with a smirk. 

“Shut up,” Ben said. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Patch teased and opened the door a little more. 

“But you were thinking it,” Ben shot back lightly. 

“You can’t stop my thoughts Ben.” Ben just rolled his eyes. “Anyway, we all went back up to your room at the hotel and you weren’t there. Dave and Diego kinda freaked out. I’m gonna go let them know you’re okay.” Four didn’t say anything to that as Patch turned back around to leave. Ben nudged him gently. 

“You okay?” Four gave him a thin, strained smile. 

“Yeah, I just…” His eyes widened and his gazed quickly snapped back to Patch. “I remember what I was going to tell you!” he called after her. She stopped and slowly turned around. 

“What?” Ben asked. 

“When I saw Patch yesterday,” Klaus started without looking away from her. “I felt like I needed to tell her something, but I didn’t remember what.” He swallowed thickly, his mouth suddenly very dry. “She thought maybe Diego told me to say something, but that wasn’t it.” She was watching him intently now. “I was supposed to say thank you.” She looked confused about what she’d done that deserved thanks. He clarified, “For the music box.” The puzzled look dropped from her face and her expression changed to one of awe. “Your dad made it, right?” 

“Yeah,” she said. 

“I gave it to you the night everything happened,” Ben explained. “You said you were going to thank her next time you saw her.” 

“Well,” Klaus said lightly, trying to joke but not really accomplishing it. “Not quite  _ the next _ time, but close enough I guess.” 

She nodded, a wide grin spreading over her whole face. “Yeah,” she laughed. “Yeah, close enough.” They were all silent for a beat. “I’m going to go let them know,” she added. “I see you tomorrow.” 

“Yeah,” Klaus said. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight, Klaus,” she said and quickly left the room. 

“You okay?” Ben asked. Klaus nodded, but it obviously wasn’t very convincing. “We can talk more tomorrow,” Ben suggested. Klaus nodded again. “Okay.” 

  
  


The more they talked the more Klaus remembered. Everyday Ben and Patch told him more stories and everyday he was able to finish their stories for them. Within a few days anybody who saw them together couldn’t possibly doubt Klaus’ identity. 

So here they were, getting ready to hold a press conference announcing that Klaus was… well,  _ Klaus _ . 

And because he was Klaus… he got to wear a dress. His smile was huge as he looked down at the skirt. The dress was made mostly of an off-white fabric accented with light blue and silver. He moved his hips in a circle just to watch the fabric sway as he moved and kicked a leg out to feel the free space around his legs. 

“You did that when we were kids, too,” Ben said, who had silently stepped into the room at some point, and just scared the living crap out of Klaus. Once he got over it he chuckled. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah,” Ben said and took a few steps toward him. “So, where’s your friend? If you just wanna say  _ friend _ ?” 

“What? Who?” Klaus asked. 

“Dave,” Ben said as if it was obvious. Klaus’ face wrinkled like he’d smelled something bad. “Diego’s here with Patch, but I haven’t seen Dave since we dealt with the reward.” 

Klaus sighed and made an effort not to look at Ben to hide the disappointment he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep off his face. “Well, he’s probably taken off with the money and is doing whatever it is he wanted to do once he got rid of me.”

Ben slowly stepped up behind him and gently set a hand on his shoulder. “Klaus…” he said softly, and he slowly turned around to face his friend. “Dave… he didn’t take the reward money.” 

Klaus’ stomach flipped and the floor fell out from under him. There was no way. There was  _ no way _ he heard that right. 

“What?” he asked weakly. “Dave refused the reward?” 

“Yeah, he did,” Ben responded, barely above a whisper. 

“Ben,” Klaus said, tears stinging his eyes. He wouldn’t turn around to face him, he couldn’t right now. “Ben, what do I do with this?” he asked, voice breaking. 

“Klaus, look at me,” Ben said, voice softer than Klaus had heard him say anything yet. He couldn’t help but listen to him. He slowly turned around and Ben looked at him. His lips were pursed like he was conflicted, but his eyes were certain. “Klaus go find him.” 

“But, the press conf-” 

“No, Klaus.” Ben sighed and closed his eyes. He dragged his hands down his face. “Klaus you never wanted this.” 

“Wha-” 

“No, let me finish,” Ben said. “Do you not remember that yet? That you didn’t want this? The royal life.” Klaus just shook his head no. “That’s why we were coming here. No one was gonna know except us, and eventually Patch. We were getting away,  _ hiding _ away. ‘Together in Paris’ was an  _ escape _ .” He inhaled to calm himself down to finish. “And if we do this, you don’t get that escape.” 

“But-” 

“We shouldn’t have done this,” Ben said. 

“What? Wait, what? Done what?” Klaus asked, confused by the sudden change of topic. 

“That press conference,” Ben clarified. “I should have known better than to do that. You still don’t remember everything and to expect you to do this wasn’t right.” 

“Then why did you arrange it?” Klaus asked. He didn’t mean to sound as snappy as he did, but the way Ben’s attitude suddenly changed frustrated him a little bit. At least he wasn’t thinking about Dave anymore, but that was also kind of the problem. Ben dropped this bomb on the conversation then completely changed it from what Klaus wanted to talk about. Dave. 

“Because my search for you spread farther than I expected,” Ben said. “I wanted it to be settled, I wanted everyone to know it was done.” 

“Ben-” Klaus started, but his friends cut him off again. 

“Look, I get if you wanna be mad, but-” 

“Why would I be mad?!”

“Because I set all this up without talking to you about it!” 

“Ben, what is the point of this conversation?!” 

“Fuck the press conference!” Ben shouted with a sense of finality. They both stood there, looking at each other, breathing heavily. They were both waiting for the other to speak first, and eventually Ben broke the silence. “Go find Dave,” he said. 

“But what about being Klaus?” 

“I know you’re Klaus, you know you’re Klaus, that’s all that matters,” Ben said, honesty in his eyes. “And later, when you remember everything, if you wanna publicly be Klaus you can do it. But don’t let it control you before you know you want it.” 

“Okay,” Klaus said. 

“And besides,” Ben sighed dramatically. “There is  _ obviously _ something there and if you miss your shot here even  _ I’m _ going to be mad at you.” He chuckled a bit before adding, “And the man screamed as me and I’m pretty sure he was about to hit me if Patch hadn’t stepped in.” 

“What, when?” Klaus asked, confused  _ once again _ . 

“The night of the ballet, when I wouldn’t talk to you,” Ben said with a shrug. 

“Really?” Klaus asked, touched that Dave would do anything for him after the way he talked to him when he left Ben’s box. 

“Yeah,” Ben said. “He really stood up for you. It’s part of the reason I’m telling you to go find him right now. That and you’re both really obvious.” Klaus laughed and Ben turned back to the door to leave. “I’ll send the press away. You just go whenever you’re ready.” Klaus nodded, and Ben quietly left the room. 

Klaus collapsed into a chair he’d completely forgotten was in the room. He put his elbows on his thighs and his head in his hands. “Oh, god,” he muttered and sighed. This was difficult. And it shouldn’t have been difficult. He wanted to go after Dave. He could do it and still be Klaus. Still be Ben’s friend. Still be Patch’s friend. So why the fuck was he hesitating? 

He wasn’t. 

He pulled his hands from his face and stood up, but there was someone else there, silently closing the door. He couldn’t tell who it was at first, but as soon as he closed the door completely and turned around Klaus gasped and almost fell back onto the seat. 

“Hazel.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh oh my god there's just one chapter left i can't believe it. i'm gonna try to be quick with it, i want to get this fic finished before season 2 comes out. also, yes. klaus' dress is based on the jacket he's wearing in the original s2 promo pics.   
> anyway!! come talk to me about tua on tumblr @lastyoungrene-gay-de


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he we go. the end. :(

“Hello, Four.” Hazel’s voice echoed through the room. 

“What are you doing here, Hazel?” Klaus asked, somehow able to keep his voice steady. 

“I’m here to take you home, Four,” Hazel said and took a few steady steps toward him. 

“This is my home,” he replied firmly. 

“Don’t be stupid, Four.”

“My name is  _ Klaus _ .” 

Hazel scoffed and shook his head. “Again, don’t be stupid.” 

“What the hell is your problem, Hazel?” Klaus demanded, heart pounding in his chest as he tried to harden his gaze.

“Klaus is dead,” Hazel snapped back. He curled his hands into fists at his side, making Klaus worry he was going to hit him. 

“Why?” Klaus pushed his fear aside and asked. “Why does he have to be dead?” 

“My partner was there!” Hazel yelled. Klaus instinctively took a step back, away from the source of the booming voice. “She was there. She knew what happened. He’s dead!” 

“No, he’s not!” Klaus said. “No,  _ I’m _ not!” Hazel was fuming now, but even then Klaus didn’t expect what he did next. He reached one hand into his jacket and pulled out a revolver. “Hey, woah, what the fuck?” he exclaimed and jumped back another few steps. He ended up hitting the back of his legs on the chair he had just been sitting on. 

“I’ve seen you over the last few days,” Hazel said, hand shaking as he pointed the revolver at Klaus. “Prancing around like you’re so much better than everybody else.”

“W-What?” Klaus stammered.  _ Who the fuck have you been watching _ ? He thought. What had they fucking done? Buy clothes? Go to the ballet? 

“You and your friends,” Hazel spat, eyes bright with fury. “All walking around acting as if you didn’t get where you are by stepping on people below you.” He pulled the hammer on the revolver. Knowing this was it, Klaus looked Hazel in the eyes and stood up straight. 

“Kill me. Do it if you want to,” he said confidently without breaking Hazel’s gaze. He could feel his hands shaking at his sides, because when it came down to it, he didn’t want to die. However, he also knew Hazel was too busy looking at his face to be able to see it, so he continued. “I know who I am, but I don’t want any of that, any of the royal shit you hate so much. You’re not wrong about everything, but I’m not here to live a public, royal life. I’m here because it’s where everyone important to me is.” 

Hazel didn’t do anything for a moment, but then he suddenly took a few long strides so the barrel of the gun was pressed against Klaus’ forehead. 

“I’ll finish the job,” he said. “She started it and I will finish it.” His hand was still shaking as he spoke, and Klaus’ stomach flipped as he realized what ‘job’ his partner had started. 

Klaus raised his chin and didn’t break eye contact. His finger moved from being stretched out along the barrel of the gun to being in position to pull the trigger. Klaus truly thought Hazel was going to do it. He truly thought he was going to die. He didn’t want to die. Not without talking to Dave again. Or without spending more time with Ben now that he’s remembering. Or without getting to know Patch better. Or without joking with Diego one last time. 

None of what he wanted mattered though. He was standing in a room where the only other person there had a gun to his head and was prepared to pull the trigger. 

But he didn’t. 

Instead of killing him, Hazel pointed the gun up to the ceiling and released the hammer, effectively decocking it. His jaw clenched as he took a step back, shoulders slumping in defeat. 

“I think you are him,” he said. “But I still can’t do it. I can’t finish what she started.” 

“What will you do instead?” Klaus asked, though he didn’t really care. He just wanted him to leave before he changed his mind. 

“I don’t know,” Hazel said. Klaus thought he was going to leave, but he held out his hand. After a moment Klaus took it and gave it a quick shake, hoping that would be enough for Hazel to leave. Apparently it was, and with that Hazel turned and left the room. He left Klaus wondering what in the  _ genuine fuck had just happened _ . However, it only took a moment for him to remember what he was doing before he was interrupted. 

“ _ Dave _ ,” he said and ran to the door. 

*****

Dave stood against the railing of a bridge on the edge of Paris. He had his forearms on the top of the railing, leaning on them with his hands clasped together in front of him. He looked down at the water below him. 

Was leaving really the best idea? He didn’t want to. He  _ really _ didn’t want to. He wanted to stay. He wanted to stay with Diego, the friend he’s been through so much shit with. He wanted to try to fix things with Klaus. Maybe he wouldn't be able to get things the way he wanted them, but he could at least apologize. At least try to be friends with him again. 

Or maybe leaving  _ was _ for the best. Maybe he should just let Klaus just forget about him and everything he did to him. He’d been really upset when he found out about the reward he and Diego would get if he was actually Klaus, and as much as Dave hated him being upset he could see why he was. They shouldn’t have kept that from him. He wouldn’t blame him if he wasn’t able to get over it. He- 

Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps behind him, but didn’t think much of them until they stopped and a voice came from behind him. 

“Dave?” Klaus said. Dave squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself to turn around. He’d just been thinking that it would be best for him to not think about him anymore, but now that he was here, right behind him, he really wanted one last conversation. For closure, at least. So he opened his eyes and turned to face him. 

He was not prepared for what he saw. 

Klaus was there, that much he expected, but he wasn’t expecting him to be wearing a dress. Or looking nervous. He was close enough to see the vulnerability in his eyes and the way his fingers fiddled with the white and blue fabric of the skirt. 

“Klaus…” He realized his mouth was hanging open, but he couldn’t make himself close it as he looked Klaus up and down. 

“Dave,” Klaus said again and pulled him out of his hypnotized state. He snapped his mouth shut and shook his head. 

“If you ever see me from a carriage again don’t wave, don’t smile,” he said and turned away from Klaus, hoping it would make it all easier. It didn’t. As soon as Klaus was out of his line of sight he just wanted to see him again. “I can’t do this. I don’t want-” He stopped, considering if he actually wanted to say that or not. Fuck it, he eventually decided. Might as well, if this goes badly… you’ll never see him again anyway. “I don’t want to be in love with someone I can’t even be with.” 

He heard Klaus suck in a soft gasp and take another few steps toward him. He could feel him hovering over his shoulder, close enough to make his neck tingle but not close enough to touch. Dave wished he would take the last step and touch him, but he doubted he would. 

“Dave,” Klaus said softly, but he ignored him. “I don’t want to be in love with someone who walked away.” Every muscle in Dave’s body tensed when his mind registered his words. There was no- it was just not possible. There was no way. No. He’d misheard. Klaus hadn’t used the same word he just had. “Dave?” He reached out and set his hand on Dave’s shoulder. He would have sworn he touched him with a flame from how warm it was. 

He turned to him. 

Klaus was looking at him with wide eyes, like he wasn’t sure how Dave would react to his confession. You know, even though Dave confessed first. Meaning the feeling was mutual. So why the fuck did Klaus look that nervous? 

Dave didn’t know what to do. He just looked at Klaus with his mouth open and eyes full of disbelief. He must have looked fucking rediculous, but Klaus was looking at him and his hand was still on his shoulder and he found he really didn’t have it in him to care about how he looked. 

After a moment he found himself leaning toward him, and Klaus lifted his chin in response. Dave finally moved, unclasping his hands and bringing one of them up to softly guide Klaus toward him. He gently put the hand on his cheek, fingers cradling his jaw and thumb brushing his cheekbone. After a moment, after just staring at each other for a few seconds, Dave realized Klaus was waiting for him. 

So he leaned all the way in and gently pressed his lips against Klaus’. 

Even with how much time Dave gave him to pull away or stop him, he still seemed surprised when it actually happened. He gasped lightly against his mouth and didn’t push for any more from him. It was a quick kiss; they both pulled away after a few short seconds. Dave's eyes slowly fluttered back open to see Klaus already looking up at him. They stood for a second, breathing heavily despite the chasteness of the kiss, just looking at each other before simultaneously pulling the other back in. 

Klaus threw his arms around Dave's neck as Dave moved the hand on his cheek to behind his neck and pulled him closer. His other arm wrapped around Klaus’ waist to press their bodies together completely. This was more than just a press of lips. It was lips working together to accommodate with the slipping of tongues and scraping of teeth, pulling away only when necessary to breathe. 

Eventually, after fuck knows how long, Dave made himself pull away. Klaus whined as he did and chased his lips. “Klaus,” he muttered softly. 

Klaus looked at him through long eyelashes. “Dave,” he sighed. Dave reached the arm around Klaus’ waist up to push a stray hair out of his face. 

“We should…” he trailed off with a chuckle. “I don’t know.” 

“Yeah,” Klaus laughed. His smile was so bright Dave wanted to kiss him again  _ sooo _ badly. 

“We should what?” 

“I don’t know,” Klaus laughed, the smile only growing even more. Dave laughed with him and cupped both his cheeks in his hands. Klaus looked up at him, eyes full of awe and surprise, and said, “Let’s find somewhere to go.” 

“Yeah,” Dave agreed lightly, smile slipping just a bit at the obvious intentions behind the suggestion, not because he didn’t want to but because he couldn’t really believe it was actually happening. “I’m sorry, I have to ask before I can see it again,” he added, causing Klaus to look around the best he could without turning his head. “What the hell are you wearing and why did it take you so long to find?” 

Klaus laughed and tried to look back down at his dress. “Oh, you like it?” he asked. 

“Oh my god, it’s gorgeous,” Dave said earnestly then added, “You’re fucking gorgeous.” 

Klaus smiled and dropped his arms from around his neck. Then he took one of his hands in his own and Dave would have sworn it was meant to be there. “Come on,” he said and gave his hand a light tug. All Dave could do was smile and obey. 

They’d ended up at the hotel they’d been staying at since they first got to Paris. Klaus muttered something about Diego maybe still needing it but probably not being there that night. He’d ended up being right, but Dave didn’t take in any of his explanation of why he thought so, too focused on the feeling of Klaus in his hands and on his lips. 

Now he was lying awake, curled up around Klaus. They were on their sides, Klaus’ back pressed against Dave’s chest, who had a hand resting lightly on his waist. Sometime before they fell asleep, Klaus had taken the hand resting on his side and threaded their fingers together. Their hands were still clasped now, all these hours of sleep later. 

Dave brushed the pad of his thumb over the back of Klaus’, who was still sleeping next to him.  _ How did we end up here _ , he thought absentmindedly. How did he get so lucky that Klaus was with him right now? Peaceful in his arms? How did he get so lucky to have Klaus last night? He thought back to the night before, when he’d touched Klaus in a way that made him gasp and shout, and the next thing Dave did was ask him if he was okay.  _ “I don’t think I’ve ever been better, Davey,” he’d said _ . Dave looked back down at him, still comfortably tucked in his arms. 

As if he could hear Dave’s thoughts about how calm he looked, Klaus began to stir. His face scrunched up and he started stretching his legs out. Dave squeezed his hand and he lazily opened his eyes. 

“Hi,” he mumbled and turned to look up at Dave. 

“Good morning,” he replied and squeezed his hand again. He squeezed back with a smile. Dave laid his head back down behind Klaus’ and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of his neck, making him squirm. 

“ _ Daaaave _ ,” he whined, making the other man laugh. He wriggled in his arms and turned around to face him. Klaus looked at him through drooped, tired eyelids. He smiled at and Dave smiled back. He brought a hand up and brushed his crazy curls out of his eyes. Klaus leaned his forehead against his in response. After a moment, Klaus asked, “Can I ask you something?” 

“Of course,” Dave said. 

“And you’ll be honest?” Klaus inquired, half teasing. 

“Yes,” Dave said firmly, not seeming to notice the teasing. 

Klaus hesitated for another moment before starting, “The other night… when I remembered the parade… were you going to kiss me?” 

Dave laughed a little before saying, “ _ Yes _ .” 

“Why didn’t you?” 

Dave sighed. “I don’t know, Klaus. There was just  _ so much _ going on and I wasn’t sure what you wanted and I’d just realized there wasn’t a single fucking chance you  _ weren’t _ Klaus and  _ god _ you’re fucking royalty I couldn’t kiss fucking  _ royalty _ .” He stopped his ramble when he ran out of breath. He hadn’t really thought he’d be able to express why he stopped himself from kissing him, but it turned out he was capable of doing a pretty good job of it. 

Klaus giggled and lifted his head and leaned toward him. “Ohhh, trust me. You can.” And he pressed his lips to Dave’s, who was quick to reciprocate. 

“Yeah?” he muttered and leaned in closer. Klaus just hummed and moved so his entire chest was pressed against Dave. He put a hand on his cheek and Dave put a hand on his neck to hold him close. 

It wasn’t long before Klaus was putting a hand on Dave’s shoulder and pushing him onto his back on the bed. Dave grinned into the heating kiss as Klaus straddled his waist and leaned over him so he didn’t break the kiss. He put his hands on his hips to hold him in place and Klaus moaned against his mouth. 

Suddenly there was a banging knock on the door, and they both jumped and turned to the door. The knocking came again when they didn’t answer after a few seconds. 

“Okay, if I spent the night on Ben’s couch and you two aren’t in there I’m gonna be pretty pissed!” Diego’s voice came through the door. Klaus visibly relaxed but Dave’s eyebrows furrowed when he looked between Klaus and the door. 

Klaus held up a finger for Dave to wait a second and turned to the door. “Fuck off, Diego!” Klaus said. He heard Diego huff through the door. 

“Alright, just trying to find you,” he said. “I’m leaving.” Dave heard the soft shuffling of what he assumed were Diego’s steps in the hallways away from the door. Klaus looked back down at him and Dave gave him a confused expression. Klaus slid off his waist and his expression turned nervous, and while Dave could tell there was a serious conversation coming, but he couldn’t help the disappointment he felt when Klaus wasn’t on top of him anymore. 

“So, umm,” he started, eyes on his hands fiddling in his lap. “Last night, when I came to find you.” 

“Yeah..?” Dave prompted. He looked at him and pushed himself up to sit against the headboard. He felt himself tense as he watched Klaus’ nerves. 

“I may or may not have abandoned a press conference where we were going to talk to journalists about me being Klaus,” he said quickly, only looking up through his eyelashes once he’d finished voicing the confession. 

It took Dave a moment to really process what he’d said. He held his hands up and put them on his thighs. He shut his eyes and shook his head, mouth hanging open a little bit in shock as he tried to figure out what to say to that. “Wha- You did  _ what _ ?” 

“I didn’t want this!” Klaus burst, eyes wide and  _ scared _ and god no, Dave didn’t want him to be scared, even if he was saying he did something so incredibly fucking  _ stupid oh dear god why did he do that _ ? “Ben was talking to me, and I’m remembering now that I didn’t want any of this royalty bullshit from life and that’s why me and Ben were going to come to Paris,” he explained breathlessly. Dave tried to gesture for him to slow down but he either didn’t see him or didn’t care. “And then he told me you didn’t take the reward money and after he told me that I panicked because I obviously really like you and I didn’t want you to leave so I had to come find you so I left the press conference to try to find you before you left.” 

“And…” Dave pursed his lips and considered how to phrase his question. “And Diego knew you were trying to find me?” he asked carefully. 

“Well, I don’t know I didn’t see him,” Klaus said, biting his bottom lip in thought. “I left right after I talked to Ben- or, well...” he sighed and grimaced, tilting his head. “There was the whole _ Hazel showing up and pointing a gun at my head _ thing, but I left right after  _ that _ ,” he finished looking up at the ceiling as if the timeline of the night before was painted there. Dave didn’t focus too much on where he was looking, though. He was stuck on the  _ Hazel showing up and pointing a gun at his  _ fucking  _ head _ thing. 

“I’m sorry,” he interrupted. “Hold on, Hazel did  _ what _ ?” 

“Oh no, it’s fine,” Klaus dismissed his concerns. “He didn’t kill me, but then-” 

“No, it’s not fine what the fuck?” Dave almost yelled and sat up from against the headboard and toward Klaus. He looked surprised by how upset Dave got, but listened when he continued. “Klaus, someone pointing a gun at your head is not  _ fine _ ,” he insisted. 

“I mean… it was scary, but obviously he didn’t pull the trigger so…” Klaus trailed off. Dave reached out and gently took his hands in his own. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. It just surprised me,” he said softly. 

“Oh,” was all Klaus said. 

“So, what were you saying before?” Dave asked. He hated to move on from the near death experience, but Klaus clearly didn’t think much of it or want to talk about it, so he moved on for his comfort. 

“Oh, umm… So Ben told me I didn’t have to go to the press if I don’t want to and that you didn’t take the money, so I left and came to find you,” Klaus said shyly. 

“Oh, I bet Ben loved that,” Dave said sarcastically. 

“He actually told me I should,” Klaus muttered. Dave looked at him incredulously. 

“I was pretty sure Ben hates me,” he said. 

Klaus laughed. “He did say you yelled at him.”

“Yeah, I did,” Dave groaned, pulling his hands away from Klaus’ only to put his own face in them. 

“He also said you stood up for me when he was being a stubborn ass,” Klaus added. 

“He said he was being a stubborn ass?” Dave laughed. 

“No,  _ I’m _ saying it, because he was,” Klaus giggled. “And he said I was really obvious.” He looked down at his hands again. 

“Obvious about what?”

“How much I like you,” Klaus muttered. Dave chuckled and leaned in to kiss him again. Klaus smiled into it and pulled him closer. 

“So what do you do now?” Dave asked softly when they pulled away. 

“I don’t know,” Klaus answered. “Oh god, I really don’t know.” His face fell and Dave could recognize the new expression. 

“Oh, no,” he said quickly, trying to stop Klaus’ self deprecating thoughts before they went too far. “Hey, no, it’s fine. There’s plenty of time to figure it out, okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Klaus said, but Dave couldn’t tell if he was agreeing with him or trying to convince himself. 

“Okay, talk me through it,” Dave said, trying to calm him down, because clearly whatever he was thinking wasn’t doing the job. “What did Ben say?” 

“That he knew I was Klaus,” he answered slowly. Dave nodded to encourage him to keep talking. He took a shaky breath and continued. “And I could still be Klaus, but I didn’t have to be Klaus publicly.”

“So you can go back?” Dave said. 

“Yes,” Klaus said. He bit his bottom and looked at him nervously. Dave was getting really tired of Klaus being nervous around him, but he wouldn’t let himself show his frustration. If there was anything he refused to be with Klaus, it was impatient. “Will… will you come with me?” 

Dave sighed and brought a hand up to cup Klaus’ cheek. Klaus had what he could only call a soft, vulnerable look on his face, but Dave was sure his face looked about the same. 

“Really?” he asked softly, surprised both that Klaus wants him to go with him and him even feeling the need to ask. “You want me to?” 

“ _ Yes _ ,” Klaus sighed, but suddenly sat up straight and looked nervous again. “But, I mean- you know, you don’t have to if you don’t wa-” 

“Klaus, yes, I’ll go back with you,” Dave said, effectively cutting him off. 

Klaus looked at him with wide eyes again. “Yeah?” he asked. 

“Yes, of course, Klaus. Did you miss the last twelve hours, or something?” he laughed and grabbed Klaus’ hands again. “Klaus, I…” He didn’t finish. He didn’t know how to. 

“Yeah…” Klaus said, apparently not needing to hear it. 

“Yeah…” Dave repeated. “God, you’re incredible, you know?” 

“Whatever,” Klaus mumbled. 

“I’m serious, Klaus,” Dave insisted and leaned forward so his forehead was pressed to Klaus’. “I love you. I’ll go anywhere with you.” 

“I love you too,” Klaus whispered and Dave saw a tear fall from his eye and run down his cheek. “And I want you everywhere with me.” Dave felt his own eyes sting with happy tears. He brought his arms up and wrapped them around Klaus. He pulled him to his chest so he was sitting with his side against his stomach and his legs in front of him at Dave’s side. 

Sitting there, with Klaus so open and honest with him, and with him tucked so tightly in his arms, he wanted nothing more than to be with Klaus anywhere he could possibly go. So he said, “Then I’ll be there.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i suck at writing endings so i hope this one was okay!! i absolutely loved writing this fic it's been so fun and i appreciate everyone who read, left kudos, or commented on it! as always come talk to me on tumblr ( @lastyoungrene-gay-de ) about tua or this fic or any other fic or also to keep up with any future fic ideas i may have. thank you so much!!

**Author's Note:**

> *immediately starts working on the second chapter* 
> 
> come talk to me about tua on tumblr @lastyoungrene-gay-de !!!


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